Being The Part Too
by wideye
Summary: A sequel to "Being the Part"
1. Smurf, Pukey and Fud

**_Thank you for such great reviews on "Being the Part". I never expected such a warm response. You guys were/are so nice. This story is a continuation of the same characters, so there will still be wrestling, fighting, sex, fish and all. I called it "Being the Part Too", because it will refer to Finn's part as a father, and Rachel's part as a mother, blah blah blah lol. Also, there is way more sex in this chapter than i've written in the first story I think...not sure what came over me. It's the freakin' long hiatus maybe! Please let me know what you think...I wasn't exactly sure where I was going to go with this story, but I have like 2 things I know what I want to do, so I promise you there is a plot. I listened to the reviews and will try to add all the elements that you have asked for. Thanks again soooo very much! Not sure who's reading this, but I feel like I got my solid 10 fans lol. So for those who find these characters of Finn and Rachel entertaining...this is for you! _**

_2 ½ years later…_

"Finn! What are you doing?" Rachel lightly screams out in their bed, as Finn slips his hand under her shirt, and grabs her boob.

"What? You said you wanted to try for another baby" he said to her moving his hand to massage her stomach.

"Baby, I just gave birth to one FOUR WEEKS AGO. What I SAID was…I wouldn't mind trying again this summer, which is four months away at least." She said. "And, we should really start looking for a bigger place first" she said sighing.

Finn and Rachel decided to try for a baby 4 months before "Spring Awakening" ended, because she figured she wouldn't start showing 'till after the show ended anyway. She ended up getting pregnant right away, which she was happy because everything was going according to plan. What she didn't plan for was the morning sickness she had the first few months. She did pretty well, and only needed her under study a few times. That decision came after she ended up puking all over Nick one afternoon during rehearsals of their simulated sex scene. Finn couldn't have planned for a better outcome, and now everyone calls Nick "pukey" as a sarcastic term of endearment.

"Yeah I understand. But can we have sex anyway?" he asked moving his hand down below her belly button and playing with the elastic on her pajama pants.

"I still don't think I'm ready for anything to go back up there" she said shaking her head thinking about the labor. "Besides Finn, that's not what's important right now. We have to discuss where we're going to live. I mean, I want to stay in the city, but is it safe? Also, do we go ahead and get 3 bedrooms because we know we want another baby right away…but then will we be mad that we'll only get 3 bedrooms in case we want to have more children? Should we start looking for four bedrooms..."

"Whoa whoa!" he said cutting her off. "I just wanted to have sex to be honest with you. I was just saying that baby thing as an excuse" he said to her trying to get her to stop rambling. "We haven't had sex in like forever and I…"

"Ex-CUSE?" now she cut him off and shot him a dirty look. Finn just stared at her like he wanted to crawl somewhere and die. "Is that all you can think about right now?" she asked him rhetorically. "I was pregnant for almost a year, sick for almost half, went through 19 hours of labor, and now worried about where we should live and what to do next…and all you're worried about is getting it on?" she threw his arm off her stomach and turned over in bed.

Finn just dropped his head and looked at the back of her head. "Rachel" he said softly, as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"DON'T. Touch me" she said still facing the other way.

Finn assumes she's still all emotional from being pregnant, the labor, and now having to care for their beautiful little boy. Plus, she was in a Broadway show for almost 4 years straight, and the last half of year she's been home all the time. But, even after all what Rachel has been through, Finn is so horny. He feels like this is "Spring Awakening 2.0", but at least he doesn't have to worry about a fake dad in the picture.

"AND" Rachel throws one more comment out, "I am breast feeding, which is hard on my nipples, and I have to watch my diet and can't even relax and have a drink, so it's like I'm pregnant all over again" she said sighing. "But I understand honey, you need to have sex" she rolls her eyes but Finn can't see because she's still facing the other way.

All Finn can concentrate on was the fact that she used the word "hard" and "nipples" in the same sentence, and he really never heard the rest of her comment. But, he knew he had to make this better, otherwise he knew he would never get laid again. And right before he can come up with something to say or do to make it better, the idea came to him as soon as their baby started to cry.

"I got him" he put his hand on Rachel's shoulder as she jilted up from the sound of his cries. "You have breast milk in the fridge right?" he asked her to make sure he can feed him. Rachel just nodded and rolled back over to go to sleep. She was exhausted.

Finn got up and looked at the tiny crib they have in their bedroom. All 3 of them share a room, because they only have a one bedroom apartment. Finn suggested to put the crib in their small walk in closet, but Rachel gave him a million reasons why that would be bad.

"It's ok Zachary, daddy is going to get you a bottle" he said to him staring down in the crib.

It took Finn and Rachel most of her pregnancy to finally agree on a name. Rachel wanted to name him a traditional Jewish name like Jacob, Abraham or Ethan, or after a famous actor. After Finn heard famous actor, he wanted to name their son "The Rock", but then Rachel reminded him that naming their kid "Rock Hudson" would just be stupid. Also, it would have been extremely ironic if they kept "Rock Hudson" in their closet. However, Finn didn't get the reference, but she did romance the idea for a few hours. _We can always have a daughter and name her Doris Day too,_ she thought. However, they both threw out names and agreed on "Zachary", because it turned out that it is a nice Jewish name, and Finn liked the idea of calling him "Zack Attack". That being said, they both liked "Zack" or "Zachary", so they went with it.

When Finn gets back with the bottle, he can see that Rachel is already sleeping and can hear her snoring a little. He then picks up Zack and sits with him on a Rocking chair in the room that Rachel had bought. As Finn was feeding Zack, he started to sing him a song as they rocked together in the chair. The only other time Finn has sung if he's jamming to some classic rock on a Saturday afternoon at the gym, or if he acts silly after a few drinks and throws some Sinatra on and twirls Rachel around the living room. Their baby being born has turned Finn into a softy, and he can't believe that he would ever be feeding a tiny baby and singing to him a' cappella. He really can't believe that he would be changing a diaper either.

_3 weeks ago…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells from the changing table in their bedroom out into the living room. Finn comes running into their bedroom to make sure nothing is wrong.

"What? There's a football game on" he said to her standing by the door holding onto a beer.

"Hudson, put your beer down and get over here. I'm going to show you how to change a diaper" she said very adamantly. Finn just sighed because he knew he'd have to learn. Rachel gave him this whole lecture on learning to take care of their children because she may be on location for a movie one day and he'll be all alone to tend to their children. She also gave him a map of where all the synagogues are in New York AND L.A. He thought it was a bit too much, but was not surprised at all, coming from Rachel.

"Ok, so see how easy they made it?" she said to him closing the Velcro like tabs on the diaper. "And as long as Elmo's head is facing up, that's how you know it's the front of the diaper and not the back" she said smiling at him.

"Yeah…I think I got this. The pictures on the diaper made it easy actually" Finn said smiling and proud that he understands which way the diaper goes.

"I'm pretty sure they did the pictures for the Dad's" Rachel said slapping him on the back and walking away. "You're in charge now, there's a Lifetime movie on TV" she said walking away from her two boys.

"Wait!" Finn yelled out, "I'm watching football" he said to her, watching her walk away. "Maaaaan" Finn sighs, knowing he's defeated and can't do anything about it. He looks down at Zack and smiles. "Well man, I guess we'll just have to buy another TV" he said to him, proud that he figured out the solution.

…

After 20 minutes, Zack has fallen back to sleep and Finn puts him in the crib. Finn then goes to bed and waits for Zack to wake up in a few short hours, so he can feed and change him again. Finn has actually been really good about helping out, but he's clueless about a lot of stuff, and Rachel doesn't like to give up her power. Although, he can tell something is wrong, because he can't believe she would allow him to take care of everything tonight unless she was tired or sick. He leans over and kisses her cheek while she's sleeping, and rolls over to his side of the bed. A few minutes later, Finn feels her tiny frame creep up on him and kiss him on the back of the neck.

"You have a beautiful voice" Rachel said whispering in his ear.

"You heard me?" he asked her as he turned around to face her.

"Of course I did, I just pretended to sleep. I was up the whole time, but didn't want to steal your spotlight. You're my under study you know" she said to him kissing his shoulder.

"Can't I be your co-star?" he asked her with his half smile. Rachel just sighed knowing she needs to let Finn be just as prominent as her, in this parent role they had both taken. _He's right, I can't control Finn, and I especially can't control him as a Dad. That's why most kids have TWO parents,_ she thought to herself.

"You're the hot male lead darling" she said shifting her body up and kissing him passionately on the mouth. Finn responds by kissing her back with more force and caressing her back. He doesn't get aggressive in fear of her pushing him away, because he figured he'll take what he can get right now. Sometimes he really feels like he was cheated in their "honeymoon" stage as a couple, because of this "Spring Awakening" musical. They only can be married without kids once, and once you decide to have them, that's it. Their sex lives change forever from that point on. At least that's what they think for now…they just know their freedom of when and where has gone on the window.

"Baby, I love you so much" Finn said still kissing her and pulling her up slightly. She mirrored his actions by grabbing on to his shirt and crinkling it in her fist as she started to grind her body closer to his. She slowly moved down and began to kiss his neck, while lifting his shirt up so she can focus on his chest. Finn just closed his eyes and let out a soft moan because he's starting to get hard at the thought of them having sex. What he didn't know was that Rachel was slowly going further down on him, and he can't remember the last time her mouth even touched that area. _Oh no, is she gonna?_ He thought and she stopped his thought as she did…

Finn threw his head back towards the headboard of their bed and let out a huge sigh as Rachel's soft hand reached his shaft. He started to breathe out as he felt her warm tongue circle his tip, and her hand rub up and down his length. _Fuck, this isn't happening,_ he happily thought to himself. It's been a very long time, maybe even close to a year since Rachel's mouth has been anywhere near Finn's business. They've had sex when she was pregnant, and for awhile, she was a huge horn dog. However, it was more about Rachel during her pregnancy. And anything they did was purely doggy style or missionary, and lasted for only a few minutes. The kinky stuff had gone out the window as soon as her pregnancy test showed a plus sign. When Rachel wanted sex, it was fast and to the point. When Finn wanted sex, Rachel made him go fast and to the point.

Finn's breaths started to become shorter and faster as she kept motioning her tongue around his tip and then pulling him deep into her throat…switching off the movements to keep him guessing. He started to moan loud and grab on to Rachel's hair to push her deeper in to his length. He wanted her to go as deep as she can, and he wanted to come inside of her mouth. He didn't care about Rachel at all during this process, except for the fact that she was the one making him feel this way. He then put both hands on Rachel's head and started to control her movements. She was like a puppet and Finn was pulling the strings. He was almost there…and so close to the edge. Until….

Zack started to cry. Not just cry, but scream.

"Fuck!" Finn yelled out. Not at the pleasure, but at the fact that their baby was screaming and he had a hard time concentrating. Rachel didn't stop because she figured he'd be done in a second and wanted to finish him off quickly so she can attend to Zachary, but Finn couldn't keep his concentration and he can feel that Rachel wasn't into it anymore.

"Forget it!" he yelled out pulling Rachel up from him.

She didn't say anything, because she understood why Finn was pissed. She sighed herself and realized it's something they have to try and get used to. She slowly moved her way up and kissed Finn on the cheek.

"I'll take care of him" she said as she started to get up.

"No!" Finn grabbed her arm. "I told you I would, and I'm not backing down on a promise. I'm the co-star remember?" he said to her as he got up and went over to the crib. Rachel just sighed deeply and lied back down on their bed staring at the ceiling. She wanted Finn to feel important, and she was so happy that he wanted to take care of their baby, not just because he thought he had to.

A half hour later, after Zachary was fed and changed, Finn got back to bed. It was now 2:30 in the morning, and Rachel is for sure out now. Finn crawled in to bed and moved over to Rachel's side and put his arm around her body. She squirmed a little at the contact and rolled over to face him, while throwing her leg over his body and burying her head into his chest. Finn smiled in content at her contact, and moved to his back and started to drift off to sleep.

_A few months later…_

Finn walks through the door of their apartment and throws his keys on the counter. "Rachel!" he yells out. He wanted to congratulate her for being nominated again for a Tony. She had called him earlier and left a message, but he was at work and found out that evening when they announced them on the news. He let out a scream from the sports desk and everyone started to laugh, because they know how excited he was for her.

He walked over to the living room and spotted Rachel sleeping on the couch, while Zachary was in the bouncy chair on the floor next to her. They're both sleeping. He walks over and smiles at both of them, and wonders if he should even attempt to wake Rachel or leave her sleeping on the couch. He decides to take Zachary with him back to their bedroom, but leave Rachel on the couch all by herself because he didn't want to disturb her sleep. He grabs a blanket and throws it over Rachel and turns the lights off, while carrying Zachary to his crib in their bedroom.

Later that night, Rachel wakes up in a slight panic and wonders where Zachary is. Before she decided to fully freak out, she walked in their bedroom, and saw him sleeping peaceful in his crib. She smiled and sighed in relief as she walked to their bathroom to get ready for bed. As soon as she got to bed, she moved over to Finn's side and climbed on top of him. She started to kiss his neck, while he turned on his back and started to kiss her.

"Congratulations" he said to her kissing down her neck and to her collar bone.

"Thanks" she said smiling as she threw her shirt off. "I want you to make love to me Finn" she said moving her head down to his chest. Finn doesn't say anything and attempts to roll her over, but she stops him. "No, I'm on top" she says giving him a sultry look.

"Whatever you say" he says moving his hands to her bra and taking it off.

Rachel has been riding Finn the last 10 minutes, and she's almost at the edge. She is biting her bottom lip as she runs her hands down Finn's chest and keeps staring at him in the eyes. Finn almost can't keep it together when she stares at him while on top. That's why he hates to be on the bottom, not because of the pleasure, but because he has a harder time (pun intended) keeping it together when he watches her face grimace with pleasure. _Not to mention her boobs, which are much bigger thanks to the breast feeding, bounce up and down, _he thinks as he closes his eyes for a minute to keep his composure.

Rachel is near approaching her orgasm, one she hasn't had in a few months, due to being tired all the time, so she's been faking it a lot. She never thought she would fake it with Finn, but she is now starting to understand what it's like to be a wife AND a mother. She's still very turned on by him all the time, and he's getting better looking as he ages, but Finn always wants sex when it's late after work and she's way too tired by then. Not tonight. She wants to spend as much time on Finn as she can, and have multiple orgasms. _I want to make up for lost time,_ she thought. As soon as she went back to thinking about climaxing, she can hear Zachary start to cry. _Nooooooo!_

"Do you want me to stop?" Finn asked her almost out of breath.

"No, keep going, I'm so close" she said holding on to his sweaty chest.

But even though Rachel is a trained actor and can focus her mind on any one thing, she just can't seem to stay focused. It's not that she can't…it's just that she feels guilty. _Damn it._

"Finn" she sighs as she stops her movement and hands on his chest. "I can't" she says as she puts her head down on his chest. Finn doesn't say anything and just looks up at the ceiling, while they both listen to Zachary cry.

"I understand" he says. "It's really weird having sex with our kid like 8 feet away from us anyway. Sort of ruins the mood".

"Yeah, I think we'll need to start looking for a bigger place" she said detaching from Finn and throwing his t-shirt on her, so it covers up her naked body.

"Yeah, like TOMORROW" he says watching her walk to the crib.

Finn and Rachel have been saving their money ever since they got married. Of course, when they first got married, Rachel wasn't making much at the box office and at small roles she would get from time to time. Finn was making good money for a part time sportscaster, but both of them didn't start making 6 figures until 2 years ago. The last two years have been really nice, but Rachel thought it would be smart to stay in their apartment and save money so they have the option of moving into a bigger and much nicer place.

Last year, Finn wanted to buy a huge, wide screen HD television, but Rachel wouldn't let him. She told him it would look ridiculous in their small apartment. Instead, and mainly because he wanted to feel like he can buy something without her permission, he bought a really big fish tank, complete with all the luxuries a fish can have…including palm trees, colored rocks, 2 filters, and 3 houses. The problem is there's only Chad in there, and Rachel thinks he looks completely ridiculous. She remembers the day she walked in their apartment and saw it in their living room by the couch

…

"Finn!" Rachel dropped the groceries on the table and couldn't keep her eyes off the huge fish tank.

"Do you like it?" Finn said smiling and pointing to Chad's new fish tank. Rachel just rolls her eyes in shock, and can't even get words out. "Uhhh, well…Chad's been really good lately and…"

"Good? Finn, he's a fish. And he's a SMALL fish, he looks stupid in that huge tank. A-a-a-and he's a beta fish, their shelf life isn't very long" she starts to yell.

"Don't say that about Chad, he can hear you. I thought it would be fun. Especially when our baby comes, he or she will want a pet I'm sure, and you said we can't have a dog so…"

"Please return it…now!" she demanded.

"No" he said folding his arms and standing next to the fish tank.

"Finn…we don't need this, and it was probably more expensive than the TV you wanted. Why did you buy this?" she asked him.

"Because I wanted to ok? I work hard, and I make good money so I wanted to buy something" he said almost in disgust that she is questioning him.

"Then buy a new hat, not a GIANT fish tank for a TINY little beta fish, in a TINY little apartment!" she said going in their room and slamming the door.

…

And that was the end of that fight, but Finn won because he refused to return it, and Rachel wasn't going to hold onto a grudge over a fish tank. However, she is reminded of it every day when she walks in their apartment and it takes up half the living room.

The next morning, Finn and Rachel have made plans to go apartment hunting first. They're not sure if they want to buy, because they know they want more kids, and judging on how easy it was for Rachel to get pregnant, they're expecting more. Rachel had made some really close friends at the theatre in the past 3 years, and one of the girls is coming over to babysit…until, she called Rachel that morning to cancel because she was sick.

"Great!" Rachel said hanging up her phone listening to the message.

"What?" Finn asked.

"We don't have a babysitter now, she called and said she's sick" Rachel said sighing. "I don't know who else to ask" she said sitting down at the kitchen.

"Well we can take Zack with no?" he asked putting his hand on her shoulder.

"We can't lug him around from apartment to apartment in this city Finn. And I don't trust New York City cab drivers either" she said. As soon as she said that, she got a text message from Nick. He messaged her asking if she wanted to go to the gym. Finn and Rachel have come to a compromise in the past 3 years. After that New Years Eve incident when Rachel slept over at Nick's in his bed, she had started to see what she was doing to Finn a little differently. She also caught on that Nick might have had ulterior motives, but she put the kibosh on that a few months after that party when she had a long talk with him. She told him that she was in love with Finn, and even if she wasn't, there was NEVER going to be anything between those two. Nick didn't challenge it because his dreams were bigger than breaking up a marriage. He knew he had to stay on good terms with Rachel in order to have a chance at a Tony with "Spring Awakening". He never tried anything again, and they've been pretty close friends ever since, although Finn likes to keep a very close eye on him at all times.

Rachel looks up at Finn like she's got a better plan. "Finn?" she asked him. "We may have our babysitter" she said smiling.

"Who?" he asked.

"Nick" she said waiting to hear what his response will be.

"Pukey?" he asked leaning into her. "No Way! No!" he said shaking his head.

"Come on Finn…he's available. I just texted him back and he said he will do it. Please?" she asked him. "I need to get out of here anyway. We can go look at some places together, be ALONE…and then maybe go out to dinner…just US" she said smiling putting her hand on his.

"Damn you. That DOES sound good." Finn says it out loud closing his eyes. "Fine! But does he even have experience watching a baby?" he asked her.

"He grew up with a lot of cousins, he's totally cool. He gave me tons of tips actually when I was pregnant"

"I'm sure he did", Finn mumbled to himself.

"Besides, Zack isn't even crawling yet. All he has to do is feed him once or twice and then let him sleep. We won't be far" she said.

They hear their door buzz.

"That was fast!" Finn said.

"A little too fast" she said letting Nick in.

As soon as Rachel opened the door expecting to see Nick, it was Stephanie.

"Steph!" Finn yelled out walking over to the door to give her a hug. Rachel just rolled her eyes.

"You left your scarf at the bar the other night" she said handing it to him. "I'm surprised you didn't come and get it, since it's a Burberry" she said smiling.

"I bought him that" Rachel said shooting Finn a look. "And when were you at the bar?" she asked him putting her hands on her hips.

"I-uhhh, stopped after work on Thursday" he said putting his head down.

"Ohhh sorry! Didn't mean to get you in trouble Fud" Stephanie said.

"Fud?" Rachel asked, looking at both of them.

"They call me 'Fud' at the bar…you see, it started off as F. Hud, like sorta, then…one night they all just jammed it together , but kept the "H" silent...we were doing Irish Car Bombs, it sorta stuck, but no one really says it" he said looking down swaying his feet like he's in trouble.

"What do you mean? They yell it out when…"

"Ok Steph…uhh thanks for dropping the scarf off" he said trying to push her out the door.

"Wait here Stephanie" she said stopping her. "When did all this happen?" she asked Finn calmly.

"You were pregnant when the nickname came about. But, I guess I stopped there on Thursday and didn't tell you, I'm sorry" he said. "You've been really moody since the baby, and I have been working a lot and I just needed to get out" he said quietly.

Rachel just shakes her head in disbelief. She doesn't care so much that he went out, but she's worried because he didn't tell her. Those sort of actions bother Rachel. She's also pissed that Finn doesn't realize that she's the one who needs to get out more than him, because he gets to go out to work every day.

"We'll talk about this tonight at dinner" she said shooting him a nasty look.

As soon as Stephanie was about to leave, Nick had started to run up the stairs. Someone had let him in the building and he walked right into the triangle formed by their front door.

"Hey Rach" Nick said. He then looked at Stephanie weird.

"Hi Nick, thanks for coming" Rachel said smiling.

"Pukey" Finn blurted out, and that was it.

"Pukey?" Stephanie asked looking at him weird.

"Don't ask" Nick said rolling his eyes. "Hey, I know you" he said pointing at Stephanie. You're SMURF" he said starting to laugh.

"Smurf?" Finn and Rachel both looked at her and Nick confused.

"Murphy is my last name. Stephanie and Murphy meshed together. It was my nickname in college. Sort of how we came up with Finn's" she said almost monotone.

"Ok…wha-wha-wha-what am I in an episode of Jersey Shore?" Rachel stutters throwing her hand up.

"Ok this is all too much" Finn said almost wanting to laugh, but then is reminded that Nick is babysitting his little boy. "Stephanie, thanks for dropping it off. Maybe Rachel and I will stop by soon. Well, when she's done breast feeding" he said shrugging.

"Ohhh, I pumped enough milk out for a couple days, I might just grab that drink tonight" she said thinking about all this chaos.

"Anytime" Stephanie said smiling. "Hey it was nice to see you again Nick, come by the bar and stop for a drink on me" she said smiling. Then Finn was reminded that Stephanie had seen the play.

"Steph, you know pukey…I-I-I mean NICK…he was in the musical with Rachel. You saw that remember?" he asked her.

"Ohhh right" she said thinking back a few years. "Ohhhh", she then thought of what Rachel and Nick had to do in the play, "Wow…pretty hot and heavy" she said smiling as she started to walk away.

"By Smurf" Nick yelled out watching her walk down the stairs.

Rachel took a step back and couldn't believe that Nick knew Stephanie. _And the_ plot _thickens_, she thinks to herself. Then she snaps out of it to get to the task at hand. They need to go find a bigger place so her and Finn can have their own bedroom back.

"Ok Nick…I have everything written down on the fridge, and you have my number of course. You are good with changing diapers and all that?" Rachel asked him sort of worried.

"Of course Rach, relax. I grew up raising like 8 cousins" he said brushing her worries off and taking his coat off.

"Nick, come over here, I have to show you a few more things" Nick said guiding him towards the living room. "Now I know you've met Chad before, but he's a picky eater. You can't feed him passed 5pm, so make sure you put his food in around 4:30. Also, he likes to go in the purple house over there when he gets scared, so that's how you'll know if you are doing something that he doesn't like…"

"Finn!" Rachel interrupts him from the kitchen. "I'm more worried about him taking care and feeding Zachary…our child, and also human. NOT Chad" she said shooting him a very bad look.

"Right honey" Finn said putting his hands in his pocket.

After another 45 minutes of explaining what to do and how to take care of Nick, including giving him the number to 5 different hospitals in New York, all specializing in a different field…Finn was the one who actually got Rachel to stop so they can leave. She actually started to feel better, because she has known Nick for a long time…3 years on stage together, but 6 total years of working together. _What can possibly go wrong?_ She thought to herself. Finn is actually shocked that Rachel would be cool with a babysitter, but living in New York by themselves with no family around, this would be their life. They would have to start making friends and trusting others.

"Bye Nick" Rachel yelled out giving Zack one more kiss before leaving.

"Bye pukey" Finn said smiling and shutting the door.

They were off to look for a new place to live.

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Too Many Finns in One Bedroom

_**Oh my God, I am SO SORRY for taking so long. Luckily, I am stuck in my house due to the blizzard here in Chicago, so I was able to finish this chapter tonight, and probably work on the next chapter tomorrow. I can't thank you enough for all the kind reviews…you guys are WAY too kind. SO SO SO nice! I hope I didn't disappoint…I fee like this chapter might not be as funny or entertaining. I guess they call this…writers block? However, I made it long to compensate for taking so long. Thanks again for everything! **_

"Where do you want to go first, the apartments or the condos?" Rachel asked Finn as they got outside to hail a cab.

"Condos. I think we should buy. We made a lot of money the last few years and saved mostly all of it, and we can put a lot down. I know you're not working right now, but I know that will change soon" Finn said to her assuming she'll go find another role on Broadway.

"I don't know Finn…we talked about trying for another baby this summer, which is almost here. If we do that, that's another year, if not two, where I won't be working" she said shrugging as a cab pulls up.

"Ok, let's go to the apartments first then, and we'll discuss it as we go along today" he said to her holding the door open for her to get in. Rachel tells the driver where to, because she's the one who has everything mapped out, and Finn's basically just along for the ride.

"So, I know we talked about another kid right away, and I'm all for that" he said motioning his hand towards her. "But, what is your plan then?" Finn asks her what HER plan is, because he's not sure they're on the same page. He also knows that it's always been Rachel's plan from the beginning, and he just goes along with everything she says or does. He doesn't mind, but that's why he looks for ways to retaliate, like buying the Cadillac of fish tanks or going to a bar during the week and not telling her. He sometimes feels like that's the only control he has, so he does these little things to feel like he has some power.

"Well, it's OUR plan" Rachel says rolling her eyes at him for not thinking he's included. "But, since you asked, MY plan was to have at least 2 children right away, and then go back to Broadway. I want to make sure they go to good schools or daycare before I go back to work though. It's sort of hard with you working the 11 o'clock news too. I wish you can switch to mornings, and then this way one of us would always be home with the kids…and we wouldn't have to worry about daycare" she said squeezing his hand.

"Well, I get paid more at the evening news, but I can ask for a transfer if that's what you would like. I feel like I would never see you if I switch to mornings, especially if you were to find another role on Broadway" he said frowning.

"Well if you're off on weekends, we'll have those afternoons together" she said, not understanding why he would be sad. "Besides, wouldn't you rather be the one to watch the children in the day, instead of some stranger at some shady daycare in the city?" she asked him rolling her eyes.

"Rach…I make good money, and if you go back to Broadway, you would also be making good money…we can afford a really good pre-school and daycare for them. And really, we're only talking about ONE kid now, because you're not even pregnant yet" he said as the cab pulls over in front of their first destination. Finn pays the cab driver, and he turns around to give them a look of "good luck" after hearing their conversation.

"Well, I don't want to get pregnant until after the Tonys, which is in a little over 2 months…so we can try that night" she said raising an eyebrow holding on to his hand while entering the apartment building.

"Do you have anything that's not planned?" he asked her as they entered the building.

After a few hours, they're both exhausted of looking at different places. On their way to a restaurant, Rachel rests her head on Finn's head and sighs.

"Okay, baby?" Finn asks her while he strokes her hair with his hand.

"Yeah, I just have so much going on in my head" she says, while rubbing his thigh with her hand.

"This is all good Rachel. All, what seems to be problems, is all good things happening to us" Finn says trying to relax her as he continues to rub his hand through her hair. "We have a beautiful baby boy, I have a great job, and you are a rising Broadway star who is nominated 3 years in a row for a Tony" he says smiling.

"You're right" Rachel says as she pops her head up, because she realized she hasn't called Nick yet to find out how everything is going.

"What's wrong now" Finn says in her response to popping her head up so abruptly.

"I don't want to sound dramatic, but I realized that I have forgotten about Zachary all this time. I'm such a bad mother" she says dialing Nick on her cell phone.

"Rach" Finn starts to chuckle a bit, "You're not a bad mother, it means you needed a little break. This is actually the first time we have gone out together, alone, since he was born" he says putting his hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

"He's not answering the phone Finn!" she says turning to look at him in the eyes. Finn just looks at her waiting to see what her next response will be.

"Make a right here, and head back to 47th please" Rachel yells out to the cab driver.

"Rachel" Finn yells back.

"Finn…please" she says putting her hand up to stop him from saying any more. "I know this sounds crazy, but I have to make sure Zack is ok before we go to dinner" she says slowing down her voice. Finn just rolls his eyes and allows Rachel to freak out, so she can then try and calm down once she realizes everything is fine.

"Ok" he sighs, trying to comfort Rachel. "Look, why don't we just go home early and order in?" he says to her smiling.

"Thank you" she whispers back.

"You can thank me later tonight when we realize that Zachary is fine" he winks at her.

As soon as the cab pulls up, Finn hurries up to pay the cab driver, so they can run upstairs to put Rachel at peace that Zachary is ok with Nick. Rachel darts up the stairs, as Finn follows a few steps behind. As soon as she swings the door open, her eyes widen at the sight on the couch. Nick and Stephanie are making out, while Zachary is sleeping on the bouncy chair next to them. Rachel is relieved and shocked at the same time. She's relieved that Zachary is ok, but shocked at how fast Pukey and Smurf got reconnected.

"Oh my God!" Finn yells out as he walks in a few seconds after Rachel.

Rachel turns to try and calm Finn down, but she sees him running towards the living room. Rachel is expecting a brawl, where Nick will be punched out for the 4th time (of course, once was by Rachel), but she's shocked to see him run towards the floor by the fish tank. Chad is flopping around on the ground, and Finn hurries up and grabs him and throws him back in the tank. The 3 of them are all in shock at both events going on at the same time. The first being Nick and Stephanie making out, and the second being Chad flopping around on the ground. Of course, what was thought to be the biggest worry, is not a worry at all, which is Zachary. He's fine sleeping while all of this is going on.

"Finn!" Rachel yells out wondering what she should focus her attention on first. Then looks back at the two of them on the couch.

"Rachel, you're home early" Nick says trying to straighten himself up.

"You didn't answer your phone so we came home" she said looking at both of them.

"It was on vibrate. After Zack fell asleep, I turned the ringer off" he said trying to relax her.

"Oh that's what that was" Stephanie said looking at him seductively.

"Ew, ok!" Rachel says motioning her arm towards both of them on the couch. "I'm glad Zack is sleeping, and thanks for turning your cell off…"Rachel stops in mid-sentence looking at Finn, hoping to intervene.

"I can't believe you did this!" Finn yells at Nick. "I mean, it's not a very adult thing to do" he says putting both his hands on his hips.

"We're sorry Finn" Nick said, answering for Stephanie as well. "Stephanie came back to bring dinner for me, and well one thing lead to another…"

"Well you're not being very responsible here! I mean, Chad almost DIED!" Finn said turning his head back to Chad's tank.

"Uhhh, oh you mean THAT?" Nick said looking at Finn ridiculously.

"What do you think I mean?" Finn asks him.

"I thought you meant the making out on your couch part" Nick said as Stephanie slowly starts to get up and walk towards Finn.

"Fish don't die from people making out. Fish die from people leaving the top of their house open!" he starts to yell.

"House?" Nicks asks.

"Finn!" Rachel shoots him a look. "Quiet, Zack is sleeping, please" she quiets her own voice.

"Sorry Fud. It's my fault, I guess I distracted him" She says putting her hand on Finn's shoulder, while shooting a look back at Nick. "I better go. You guys come see me at the bar soon ok" she says giving Finn a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out. "Good night Nick" she says at the very end before closing the door.

"So, you make out with my friend, and you almost kill Chad?" Finn asks looking at Nick.

"I guess I was looking for just ONE more reason for you to hate me" Nick tries to joke back.

"Finn" Rachel says walking over to Finn. "I know you love the fish, but put this in perspective please. Our SON is fine…you know? The other HUMAN that lives with us. And you are married to ME, not Stephanie, so you shouldn't care about him making out with her" she says puzzled that Finn would be mad over these trivial things.

"Ok…first of all, that's not very VEGAN of you to not care about a fish. According to vegans, you guys treat animals BETTER than humans" he argues. "And yeah…you're right, you are married to me. But, I sorta got used to YOU making out with THAT GUY every night for 3 years" he said pointing to Nick. "And now he's making out with my other friend…who is a girl, but I don't have romantic feelings for, but she's the other girl in my life so he has to go and steal every vagina that crosses my path!" he says as he walks through the hallway to their bedroom and slams the door.

"Well" Rachel said turning around and clapping her hands together. "Just another normal night in the Hudson family, dysfunctional household" she said looking at Nick and smiling awkwardly.

"Are you mad?" Nick asks Rachel as he watched Finn walk away. Nick sort of got used to Finn's incoherent and ridiculous rants for the last 3 years that it barely fazed him.

"No, of course not" she walking over towards Zachary in his bouncy chair. "You're an adult, and you came over on a Saturday night, last minute to watch my son." She said sighing. "And he seems ok and happy to me" she says as she kisses her son on the cheek.

"He's all fed, burped and changed." Nick says proudly. "About the Stephanie thing…"

"It's fine" she interrupts him. "I mean, making out on a couch while babysitting is a little high school girlish, circa 1992…but you're an adult. As long as Zack is fine, that's all I care about. Now the fish on the other hand…that's all Finn. You'll have to answer to him on that one, but to be honest, he killed MY fish, so I think he's got it coming to him" she says laughing.

"I guess I forgot to close the top of the tank" he says sighing, and giggling a bit as well.

"Well, he's right, it's not very vegan of me" she says putting air quotes on the word 'vegan'. "But, I would take much sadistic satisfaction if something horrible happened to that stupid fish" she said raising her eyebrows.

"Do you want me to off him right now?" he asked pointing towards the tank.

"No!" she abruptly shouts stopping him of any terrible ideas. "As long as you didn't forget to feed my SON, that's all I care about" she says walking him towards the door. "Thanks Nick for watching him. Next time, we'll tell you about our 'no girl' policy" she says slapping the back of his shoulder.

"'Night Rach" he says smiling back.

Later on that night, Rachel had fallen asleep on the couch after she got done giving Zachary a bath. Finn put him in his crib for the night, and decided that he was going to unplug the fish tank and bring it in their bedroom. It was on wheels, so he quietly wheeled it in their bedroom, and moved it between their bed and the crib. He had gotten a power strip chord so he can plug the tank in, because it had all these fancy lights along with 2 filters. He figured the noise would also be soothing for Zachary, and would also serve as white noise that would drown out any noises that he and Rachel would make while having sex. _Haha, I'm a genius,_ he thought to himself. _Also, I can monitor Chad tonight since he suffered a traumatic event due to douche bag pukey._

Finn went back out to the living room to pick up Rachel and carry her to bed. She barely responded, other than throwing her arm around his shoulder and digging her head in his chest.

"Mmmmm" she happily moaned as he placed her on the bed, while she just rolled over under the covers and went back to sleep.

Finn moved over to his side and slid under the covers, moving closer to Rachel. He started poking her to test to see just how tired she was, but she didn't even respond. He even took his pillow and lightly hit the top of her head to try and rattle her, but again no response. He then got up and took a rattle out of Zack's toy box and shook it in front of her face.

"Finn" she says sternly while grabbing the rattle from his hand without her even looking or moving her head. "You touch me one more time and you die" she says without cracking her voice.

Finn doesn't say anything, because she just scared the crap out of him. He rolled over and went to bed instead.

A few hours later, Rachel wakes up to go to the bathroom. She sees the lights from the fish tank and thinks she's still might be in the living room. She moves her body to get off the couch, but ends up falling off the bed because they are different sizes. _Ow_, she thinks. She's still a bit discombobulated and turns to walk away from the fish tank, and ends up walking straight into the crib.

"Shit!" she yells out startling herself. As soon as she hit the crib and yelled out, Zachary started to cry.

Finn throws himself up and sees Rachel trying to figure out what's going on, all at the same time to try and calm Zachary down.

"Rach" he says getting out of bed carefully, not to hit the fish tank. "I got him, it's ok" he said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Finn, why is the giant fish tank in our bedroom?" she angrily asked him. "I woke up and saw it and got confused. I thought I was in the living room on the couch" she said.

"I thought it would solve all our problems" he said not understanding why she's mad.

"What problems?" she said as she put Zachary's pacifier back in his mouth to get him to stop crying. "Last I checked, our ONE problem was space, and you seemed to make it worse by moving in your fish with his giant real estate" she said quietly yelling as she starts to walk towards the bathroom.

"I wasn't going to leave Chad out there alone tonight, and then I figured the noise of the filter and water would be calming for Zack. I read somewhere that the noise of water makes babies feel more at home or something" he said to her following her to the bathroom.

"Then you should have bought a CD with ocean sounds" she said rolling her eyes as she sits on the toilet to pee. "You don't bring in that giant fish tank to make our space issues worse" she yells as she flushes the toilet. "Now, there's a few too MANY 'fins' in our bedroom!" she says as Finn just puts his head down in defeat.

"That's it Rachel. We have to make a decision on where we're going to live then. You have all these plans, and I think the first thing we need to do is buy a condo" he says putting his foot down.

"Fine" she says shutting her eyes for a second. "You're right, I need to let you be the man and make some decisions. I have been stifling your ideas for awhile now…"

"Since we met" he said interrupting. Rachel just shoots him a look, but she can't be that angry, because she knows he's right.

"You're right" she said walking up to him putting her hand on his waist. "You really liked that condo we saw in Tribeca…I-I-I'm just scared because it's expensive to live there" she said hugging him.

"I know, but it's a perfect place to live. And we can afford it, even if you don't work for another few years. I make plenty of money, and you made us save all those years, so we'll be good for a few years anyway" he said trying to calm her down.

"Ok, let's go back and look at it again and put in a bid" she said nodding her head and smiling.

"That's my girl" he said kissing her head. "See? It wasn't too hard to let me make a decision right?" he said half smiling.

"No, I might try and get used to you making all the decisions" she said starting to walk with him to bed.

"Great, let's start now" he said smiling seductively. "Rachel! Take your shirt off" he demands pointing to her.

Rachel just ignores him and goes to bed, as she rolls over to the opposite side.

"That's fine…I was going to tell you to go to bed right after you take your shirt off. I changed my mind, I think you should just ignore me and go to bed, so...thanks for listening to me" he said throwing the sheets over his head and going to bed.

_2 ½ months later…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells out from their bedroom. "Have you seen my nail file?" she says looking all over her dresser as she starts to knock things over.

"Rachel" Finn says walking in their bedroom holding Zack. "You have to stop asking me if I know where any of your beauty stuff is" he says rolling his eyes.

"I know, but now we have way too much room, and I tend to lose things in this place more" she says referring to their new place.

They had bought a nice 2 bedroom condo with a loft a few weeks back, and they finally got everything unpacked earlier this week. Finn also had to adjust with his new hours the last two weeks. Rachel has been pressuring him to change to the morning news, because she can't handle his late hours. She thinks it would be easier for him to be home in the day and evenings for the kids. Of course, she's not pregnant yet, but she plans on changing that tonight. They, or really Rachel, is the one who has planned to try for another baby the night of the Tony Awards. Tonight, they are both hoping it will be a nice show and party afterwards, due to it being stressful from the move.

_A few weeks ago…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells from their closet. "Where are all my sweaters? Did you pack them?" she asks him puzzled where all half of her clothes are.

"They're with Chad's stuff" he said hesitantly. "I didn't think you would notice actually, since it's almost Summer" he said looking around.

"Ok, I'm going to try and understand this before I yell at you" she said throwing her arm up. "WHY are my sweaters with Chad's STUFF?" she asked him calmly.

"Well since he's been sleeping with us every night…"

"And I thank you for those last few glorious weeks" she interrupts him and then lets him continue.

"You would complain about the light…" he said.

"And the big ass fish tank in the middle of our bedroom, which also gave little space for our son and his crib" she interrupts him again, and then lets him go on.

"…but I didn't want to turn it off because I didn't want Chad to be uncomfortable. So I would always use one of your sweaters to cover up the tank remember?" Finn asked her.

"Yes, and I would yell at you, but you always did it when I was too tired to get up and move it" she said sighing. "And then you would remind me that was the only solution of covering up the light because your shirts were too big and could possibly fall in the tank and kill Chad" she said rolling her eyes.

"Right, so anyway…I think he got used to the smell of you" he said smiling. "So, I wrapped his stuff with a few of your sweaters so when we move to the new place, he's reminded of your scent" he said looking down at the carpet.

"God, I want that fish dead" she mumbles as she walks passed him.

"What?" he asked her watching her walk away.

_Back to tonight…_

"I know you're nervous about the Award show tonight, you have to relax" he said walking over to her and kissing her cheek, while still holding on to Zack.

"Thanks baby" she said kissing Finn and then placing a kiss on their son. "I feel like this can be my last chance to win for awhile, especially if we have another kid" she said smiling.

"Are you changing your mind?" he asked tilting his head looking down at her.

"No…no…I-I-I mean, I know we just bought this place, and I want to make sure we'll be ok" she said putting her earrings on.

"Rach..we went over this a million times. I make enough money for you to stay home for the rest of your life…"

"Ok, let's not get me more nervous than I already am Finn" she said thinking of the idea if she was to never go back to the stage.

"You're right" he said starting to laugh.

"That must be Stephanie" Finn said hearing the buzzer ring to their condo.

Finn and Rachel had no one to ask to watch Zack for the Tony Awards tonight because everyone Rachel knows works in Broadway. All of Finn's friends work at the station, so the only person they can think of was Stephanie.

"Smurf!" he yells out kissing her on the cheek as he answered the door.

"How's my favorite little man?" she said picking up Zack from Finn's arms and kissing him.

"Hi Stephanie" Rachel says as she walks to their foyer area. "Zack's bottles are in the fridge, and he only needs to be fed before bed, and that's really it. Finn already gave him a bath" she said smiling putting her coat on.

"Well that's easy" she said sitting down at their kitchen.

"I would tell you no boys, but he'll be with me on stage tonight to present an award" Rachel says trying to make Stephanie jealous.

"Very funny" she said smiling at Rachel. Stephanie never saw Nick again since the night they made out on their couch, but Finn and Rachel still like to make fun of her for that.

"Honestly though, thank you very much for babysitting tonight. I hope you brought extra clothes in case you want to spend the night because we might be home late" she said grabbing their keys.

"Oh no that's ok, I'm used to staying up late. I work at a bar, remember? In fact, if it's not too late, I may have to go back there. We have been short bartenders" she said sighing. "Have fun guys, nothing to worry about here" she said pushing them out the door.

"Don't feed Chad, because I already took care of it, and don't…"

Stephanie slams the door before Finn can finish his sentence. She is familiar with how insane and protective Finn is over Chad.

_Later that night…_

Rachel and Finn walk through the door of their condo quietly not to wake anyone up. It's 2:00am, and they spot Stephanie sleeping on the couch.

"Should we wake her?" Finn asked Rachel.

"Well we can't leave her to sleep on the couch all night. We can tell her to go to the extra bedroom in the loft" she said.

Rachel went over to the couch to wake up Stephanie. "Sorry you lost Rachel" Stephanie said as Rachel moves her hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Clearly they voted for age instead of talent. A much older actress won over me, and I'm sure it's because they know she's gonna die soon", Rachel sighs in bitterness.

"Yeah, I know how that goes, but I usually lose to younger chicks" Stephanie says as she laughs. "Well, good night guys" she says waiving to both of them. "I better go check on the bar before I go home anyway" she says as she throws her shoes on.

"Thanks again Steph" Finn says as he walks her out the door and closes it.

Finn takes a deep sigh and walks over to Rachel and gives her a soft, but long hug.

"What's this for?" she asked him as he broke his embrace to look at her.

"I just love you" he said smiling down at her. "Want to go and make that baby now?" he asked her.

"Sure" she said smiling, as she watches him turn around to turn off the lights in the kitchen and say good night to Chad.

What Rachel DIDN'T plan was to lose her Tony for the 3rd time in a row. What she HAD planned was to spend her next pregnancy polishing her Tony award and telling her kids the great story of how she won in an epic breakthrough musical that she was a part of. And she figured her Tony would also give her leverage to gain another part in a year or so after she has another kid. Now she's worried to take a break, because she has nothing to show for it.

_I can't get pregnant now_, she starts to think as she heads towards their bedroom. Finn catches up to her and starts to kiss the back of her neck and tries to unzip her dress before they even got to their bed.

"Finn" she said squirming away. "Wait" she said very serious. Suddenly she spots a look of confusion on his face, and she's starting to think he's catching on that she's now hesitating. "Umm…uhh, I have to wash my face first, give me one second ok?" she fakes a smile and kisses him passionately on the mouth.

"Ok, I'll go check on Zack and meet you back here" he said raising his eyebrows and slapping her butt.

Rachel goes into the bathroom and pulls out her birth control. She already talked to her doctor about how fast she can get pregnant, and her doctor said depending on when she ovulates, it can be as little as a day when she stops taking the pill. She took a deep breath and stared at her birth control pills. I _feel like I'm lying and cheating on Finn if I don't tell him I'm not ready,_ she thinks to herself_. Especially after we bought this bigger place, _she starts to feel bad as she takes the pill in her mouth and swallows it with a glass of water.

"Ok, just let this go tonight, and then find time to talk with him this week that I want to go back to work right away" she said quietly to herself in the mirror.

She walks out of their bathroom and sees Finn lying there with a karma sutra book, handcuffs, and a bottle of wine.

"Oh baby, I don't want any more wine tonight" she said shaking her head walking towards their bed.

"Wow, funny…I figured you would say something about the book or the handcuffs" he said laughing.

"Please, I had you pleading for mercy in those handcuffs a few weeks ago" she said poking his side.

"Ow!" he said as he jumps on top of her and pins her down.

"Finn!" she said laughing. "You're the only guy I know who LITERALLY wants to wrestle in bed" she says rolling her eyes.

"I like it rough" he says kissing her neck and down towards her chest, moving her tank top up, almost ripping it.

"Let's have fun making this baby" he said continuing to kiss down to her waist band of her pajama pants and pulling them down.

"Something else needs to be down there if you want a baby" she said pulling his head up. _God Rachel, you are a fucking fantastic actress, how come you didn't win this Tony? _She asks herself as she's sadly proud of how she is lying to Finn about her wanting a baby right now.

They continue to make love into the small hours of the morning. Rachel had never felt so satisfied before, and she can't understand why. She kept wondering if they would have made a baby if she had not taken the birth control, and that's why she's going to have to tell him. She won't be able to live with this guilt.

_A few weeks go by…_

"Rachel!" Finn says as he walks through the door of their condo. He just got home from work, and he has some news for her.

"Hi darling" she said as she's folding their laundry on the couch.

"I have some bad news, and I'm just going to come out and say it" he said to he threw his shoes off and walked towards her.

"What?' she asked him not having a clue what it could be.

"I lost my job today" he said throwing his body down on the couch and messing up the clothes.

"What?" Rachel said almost numb to the news like it's not happening.

"We dropped down to number 3 in the market, and they got rid of the newest guy there" he said putting his hand on his forehead.

"But you're NOT the newest guy there Finn!" she said trying to rationalize this.

"But I am….I am the newest MORNING guy, and that's the ratings that dropped. They don't need me to do sports, and can't afford me with the salary that I was making" he said.

"So if you would have stayed on nights, then you would have never lost your job?" she asked him afraid of the answer.

Finn just nods his head, but starts to think of their new, expensive condo, their baby, and their possible new baby on the way.

"But it's ok Rachel…I pushed us buying this condo" he said standing up to comfort her and she began to cry. "I'll find a way to afford all of this, maybe they'll give me a job in the editing room" he said trying to think of anything he can do for now.

"But it's my fault because I made you transfer to the mornings so you can stay home and take care of our children" she said. _The children that I insisted on having, then changing my mind, but then not telling you I changed my mind, then staying on birth control without telling you, and now knowing all this, you didn't need to change to mornings in the first place because you didn't need to stay home for the child that we weren't going to have right now, _she thinks all this to herself while holding on to Finn tight.

"Oh, and don't worry Rachel, if you're pregnant…"

"No!" she interrupts. "I-I-I… got my period today, so I'm not. Which means, we should back off on trying for another" she said closing her eyes.

"Oh Rachel, I'm sorry, I feel like this is all my fault. I know you wanted me to switch to mornings, but I didn't have to insist on buying such an expensive place in an expensive neighborhood. You were the one who wanted to rent…and now I can't give you another child" he said starting to cry.

Rachel just hugs him and holds on to him tight. _I feel like the biggest asshole right now_, she thinks to herself. _I can't let him feel guilty about this if I don't really want another kid right now anyway._

"It's ok Finn…we'll both start looking for work first thing tomorrow" she said.

"Ok, but we have enough to live off of for at least 6 months. I want to be the one to look for work first, so you can stay home and raise our kid. This way, if I find something, then we can start trying again real soon. I promise Rachel, I will fix this" he said.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Remember to Zip the Diaper Bag Up

_**Where the hell have I been? So sorry! I plan on concentrating more on this story so I don't get lost in my own timeline here…took way too long of a break! Thanks for all the kind reviews…love you all! **_

_3 months later…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells out as she spots a beer bottle on their coffee table without a coaster.

"What? I just put down Zachary, please be quiet" he said walking out of his bedroom and into the living room.

"You never use a coaster and I'm getting really sick and tired of telling you" she said as she lifts his bottle up and cleans the table with a rag. "And now that we both have the luxury of being with each other morning and night, I notice that you don't use one for your morning coffee either" she says giving him a glance.

"Whatever" he says under his breath as he goes into the kitchen to get a new beer.

"Finn! Now that Zachary is walking around, you can't just leave a beer bottle on the table for him to grab too. Please be more careful" she said barking at him.

"Ok, honey" he said snidely.

"Oh so you're just going to sit here and drink all night and not do anything?" she snidely asks him as she watches him walk in the kitchen with pajama pants and shirtless

"What Rachel? You have been down my back the last week and I have no idea why!" he starts to yell. "You know that I've been looking for a job every day, and what the hell do you expect me to do at night?' he asks her as he walks in the living room to put the TV on.

"Keep busy I guess" she says as she continues to clean.

"Fine" he says as he gets up to walk in their bedroom.

Rachel watches him walk in their room and expects him to go to bed angry, like they both have the last few months really. They have not been intimate since Finn lost his job, and it's been nothing but a stressful situation. Funny how life changes when you lose a job and have a kid. 3 months without sex nearly killed Finn a few years back, now it's almost as if he hasn't even noticed.

Rachel has been looking non-stop for work, but can't seem to have any luck either. Finn has sent out resumes to every TV and radio station he can think of. Neither of them have had any luck, and it's taken a toll on their marriage. Even though they have spent a lot more time together, it's turned out to be taxing on their relationship. They both want to desperately find something to be the hero in the family.

"Where are you going?" she asked Finn as he walked out of their bedroom dressed in jeans and a button down shirt.

"Out" he said as he grabbed his keys and headed towards the door. "Don't wait up" he said as he shut the door behind him.

Rachel just shook her head, but wasn't too worried about him leaving. She figured she pissed him off, and neither of them have had any time away from each other…she actually thought it might be good for the both of them. _I could put my pajamas on with a glass of wine and watch a movie in peace, _she thought to herself.

_Later that night…_

Finn had entered their condo very quietly. It was 3:30 in the morning, and he was gone a lot longer than he wanted to…_Or I should be, _he thought to himself. He tip toed as he gently put his keys down on the kitchen table as he took his shoes off and headed towards their bedroom. The door was cracked open, so he lightly pushed it open as he walked through while unbuttoning his shirt. He walked towards the bathroom to brush his teeth, and threw some water on his face. He unzipped his pants while walking towards their bed and threw them on the floor as he got under the covers. He felt Rachel close to his side, so he put his arm around her as he started to doze off.

"You smell like a girl" Rachel blurted out. "And sweat" she said without flinching.

"Huh?" he asked her, but knew he probably did.

"Were you at a strip club? Because if so, please take your arm off of me and go shower" she said squirming away.

"No, I didn't go to a strip club. I went to Stephanie's bar" he said quietly.

"Oh" she sighed. "I guess I saw that coming" she said pulling away from him and turning over.

"I have something to tell you" he said turning towards her and hugging her from behind.

"You had an affair" she said monotone.

"What?" he asked shocked. "No!" he said out of disbelief. "Baby…" he said and then stopped to gather his words. "I ended up bartending there tonight and they loved me" he said still holding on to her.

"What? Bartending?" she asked staring at the wall.

"Yeah…Stephanie has been lacking bartenders. When I went there, I was telling her about our problems…"

"Finn" she sighed interrupting him.

"No relax. Not like personal problems…but just our problems about needing to find work" he said kissing the back of her shoulder. "So, she gave me an audition" he said.

"Audition?" she asked puzzled.

"Well, being a bartender is very similar to being an actor" he said to her with confidence. "You have to be this part. It's all a game really…where you have to play the role of everyone's best friend. Stephanie explained this all to me tonight. I have to make everyone believe that I'm into them…"

"INTO them?" she asked worried.

"Well…you know…like you and Nick in that part the last 3 years. You had to make everyone believe that you were the IT couple. You had to BE that part. I realized bartending is the same thing. And you know what babe? I'm actually pretty good at it" he said proudly of himself.

"Great" she said unsure of herself. "So, you went from evening news sportscaster on the television to a… bartender?" she asked mocking his choice of career.

"Rachel, this is not how I was brought up. We need to keep our income flowing, and I'm the head of the house…even though we all know you really are the head, or at least in charge of the head…but nonetheless, I'm STILL the head…and I need to find a way to keep this family going." He said holding on to her tighter.

"You're right, I'm sorry" she said turning around to face him. "Thanks for caring enough, and for doing whatever it takes" she says as she sighs.

Rachel is not very happy about what he's telling her, but she has to admit she found a great guy who wants to provide and do anything it takes to make sure everyone is safe and happy in their household. She's just more upset at herself not being able to find work. I've been nominated for a Tony 3 consecutive years in a row! She shouts in her head

"Honey" she says to him.

"Yes" he says kissing her shoulder.

"Please shower though, you DO smell" she says as nicely as possible.

Finn nods and doesn't say anything. He gets up to take a shower, and Rachel just lays in bed contemplating where they are in their lives. _Great, my husband went to college so he can bartend, and I can't find work at the ripe old age of 27. A few more years, and I'll be ancient in this business. I have to keep acting to keep my skills alive…I have to broaden my choices, _she thinks to herself as she figures she'll make a few phone calls tomorrow.

_The next day…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells out from their bedroom while getting ready to go out.

"What?" he says walking in their bathroom as she's brushing her hair.

"I'm going out to lunch with Nick, he said he can get me an audition for a part" she said doing the finishing touches on her make-up.

"Fine" Finn says rolling his eyes. "Will you be back in time for me to leave for work?" he asked her while leaning his head on the wall by the door.

"Yes" she says sighing. "But hopefully this will mean you won't HAVE to serve alcohol every night to those slutty girls, undressing you with their eyes every night" she says mocking his job.

"Rach, I told you, it's just a job. I get more tips when I let them flirt with me" he said trying to prove his point. "In fact…" he says as he walks behind her and hugs her. "I make enough money where I was thinking we can start trying again" he whispers in her air and then nibbles on it.

"Uhhhh, no" she says backing away from and turning to face him. "I think we need to wait" she says nodding her head.

"You know Rachel…if I didn't know any better, I would think you don't even want another kid right now…jobless or not" he says staring her in the eyes.

"Uhhhh no, wha-wha-why would you think that?" she says looking around.

"Because you were too quick on the draw as soon as I told you I lost my job. And I've been actually making really good money bartending, while still looking for work…we really didn't need to stop our plans" he said looking at her pensively. "And furthermore…you have only been concentrating on finding YOU work, not me!" he said pointing to himself.

"Fine!" she said breaking their contact. "After I lost the Tony, I was scared that…that was it" she said putting her hands on her hips and staring at the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her confused. "I'm sick of you keeping things from me Rachel" his voice started to get louder.

"Because I didn't know it myself, Finn. I didn't realize how much I love the stage" she said pleading.

"Yes you did" he said interrupting her. "Everyone and anyone who knows you, knows how much you love …attention" he said replacing the word "stage" with "attention". "Funny, how I'm the one getting attention now, and you don't like it" he said smirking.

"Finn that's just stupid, you get attention all the time. You were the hunky sportscaster on the evening news in the NUMBER ONE market for over 3 years! I see the way girls look at you when we go out in public Finn…and when you became noticeable, it was even more so" she said throwing her arm up.

"At least that's in the privacy of people's MINDS Rachel…they undress me with their eyes, meanwhile you did the work for all the men to see when you were on stage making out half naked, with Nick" he matches her movements by throwing his arm up as well.

"Then become an actor" she says biting back.

"I am" he says looking at her. "I'm an actor behind that bar making good tips for our child's future. You just do it for your own self pleasure" he said turning around. "Be home by 4 please" he said as he walked away.

"What an ass" she mumbled to herself putting her make-up away.

When Rachel meets Nick for lunch, he's already sitting down at the table.

"Hi babe" Nick says as he gets up to kiss her cheek and guide her to her seat.

"Thanks for meeting me, so let's get right to it…what's the part?" she asked him barely getting situated in her chair.

"Good, thanks for asking" he said alluding to the fact that she didn't ask how he was.

"Sorry…I'm just stressed out. It's been a hellish few months, and I'm going crazy stuck in the house with Finn all day long" she said grabbing her ice water from the table.

"Getting on each other's nerves?" he asked with a small chuckle.

"Well I think it's just the stress…and-and-and he doesn't seem to be worried that we're both unemployed with a baby and a mortgage now!" she says flipping to the wine list.

"Day drinking?" he asked her lifting his eyebrow.

"You got a problem with that?" she jumped at him.

"No not at all…you might need one when I tell you what audition I got you anyway" he said also flipping to the wine list.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" the waiter asked as he walked to their table.

"Yes, we'll have a bottle of the… Chardonnay?" he asked Rachel as he looked at her. She nodded in agreement. "Chardonnay" he said smiling to the waiter.

"Ok, soooo…what's the part? I was sort of hoping it would be Million Dollar Quartet, I heard the lead woman in there is leaving this summer" she said waiting to hear back from Nick.

"Well..it's not exactly on Broadway…" Nick said slowly.

"That's ok…I can do an off-Broadway play…my talent shines bright enough where they'll be able to hear me loud enough FROM Broadway every night" she said with confidence.

" Well they might be able to hear you loud enough from the ABC studios…"

"Studios?" she asked cutting him off.

"I got you an audition for a TV show" he said.

"Ok…I can handle that. I wasn't expecting any television appearances until after I've conquered theatre and film, but I suppose if it's in good taste…" Rachel says trying to ration this out.

"It's definitely been around since the 70's…so they're doing something right" Nick says looking around for the waiter hoping he's bringing the wine.

"70's? What television show has been around since the 70's?" Rachel asks confused.

"All My Children" Nick says mumbled to the point where Rachel can't understand his words.

"What? What did you say?" she asked leaning into the table.

"All My Children" Nick said looking her straight in the eyes.

"The SOAP OPERA?" she yells out to Nick, as the waiter finally came with their bottle of wine.

"Yeah…I am friends with one of the writers and he told me they're writing some new characters, so I was able to get you the audition before anyone knew about it." He says smiling taking a sip of his wine.

"But I can't be in a soap opera, those are for actors just starting out. I mean…it's at the bottom of the food chain as far as acting goes! It's one step lower from reality shows…No one goes from BROADWAY to…to…to a SOAP OPERA" she says letting out a deep sigh.

"Look Rachel, I completely understand, but you called me in dire straits for an acting position. There's a Broadway part that I might be taking on, but I have to wait 4 months, and I know you can't wait that long. It's this…or stay at home with Finn all day" he says smirking.

"A soap opera" she repeats glancing off into to space, and downing her entire glass of wine.

"Oh come on kid, it's not that bad. You know how many people would kill for a full time acting gig on All My Children?" he said taking another sip of his wine.

"Would you take it?" she asked pouting.

"Hell no" he said almost laughing. "But I'm not married with a kid and unemployed" he said digging it in even worse.

"Crap! I have a kid" she yells out remembering she can't be careless and drink because she has to be home by 4.

"Do you know how many great actors who started off on soap operas?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but they STARTED on a soap opera. Going from a Broadway show to the Tony awards…to-to- to a cheap, daytime soap? It's gonna kill my career! Everyone is going to say 'hey isn't that that beautiful young, talented actress from Broadway, who is now burying her ex husband alive and sleeping with his brother on that soap?' No way…NO WAY!" she said freaking out like she already has the part.

"Rachel you need to calm down. Would you rather go to working at a box office and ripping tickets as an usher again? At least this is an acting gig!" he said throwing his hand up. "Look" he said calming his demeanor down and grabbing her hand, "I understand, but this is just temporary. You can sit at home all day and watch Finn go work at the bar with all these women all over him, OR you can go on this audition and be busy acting again. You never know what this can lead to anyway" he said trying to convince her.

"You're right, I have to think of my family. The pay is probably good, and at least I'll be acting. This actually may be good to add to my resume. I've never done a soap opera" she said smiling.

"There's that smile I love to see" Nick says smiling back. "You know that's it's always easier to find a job when you already have one too. Something may open up, or maybe someone is writing something for you as we speak" he said.

"I told the producers from 'Spring Awakening' to start writing something for me. I'm sure they are busy trying to figure out the details that's all" she said taking a sip of her water.

"Great, I'll call my guy now and tell him you're interested and see when they can take you" Nick said as he got up from the table to find a quieter spot.

_This might actually be fun. I should probably be grateful that I'd be on television before I'm 30. Perhaps I'm being too judgmental, and shouldn't assume this is vocational suicide for me_, Rachel thinks to herself as Nick is on the phone.

"Ok, I have great news! They want to fill this part sooner than later. They want to see you at 5 today!" he said enthusiastically.

"Oh my God, that's great news! I have to tell Finn that he's going to have to be late for work then. He needed me home by 4 so he can leave" she said searching for her phone.

"Oh there's no need Rachel, I can watch Zack for you while you go on your audition" he said.

"Thanks Nick that is really sweet of you, but Finn is still mad over the almost killing Chad incident" she said shaking her head. "Personally, I don't care, it's just a stupid fish, but he'll be pissed if you are babysitting Chad." She said.

"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" he asked her laughing.

"Have you MET my husband?" she said sarcastically.

Rachel got Finn's voicemail, so she left him a message telling him he needs to stay home. "Ok, let's eat so I can get back home and change for the big role, shall we?" she says bringing her water glass up to Nick's wine glass.

"Now I got to finish this whole bottle all by myself thanks to you" he said smiling.

When Rachel gets back to their condo, she runs in with excitement to tell Finn the good news.

"Finn!" she yells out throwing her keys on the table.

"Hey, be quiet I just put Zack down for a nap" he said walking over to her. "How was your lunch?" he asked not too pleased and still slightly pissed at her.

"It was good, didn't you get my message?" she asked.

"I did, but I can't go in late today, I'm the only bartender there until 7" he said walking passed her to grab something to eat from the kitchen.

"Finn, who cares about your stupid bartending job. This is a REAL job…and I think I pretty much have it…I mean, they want to see me right away. You can go when I get back if you love it so much" she said not understanding.

"Rachel! It's always about you isn't it?" he said.

"No Finn!" she yells cutting him off, "this is about US, and the baby. This is a great opportunity, and for your information…I don't necessarily want to work on a soap opera, but it pays good and we'll have insurance" she said trying to ration with him.

"But it's not Rachel. It's about you wanting to be the one working, and more importantly stay in the career that you have chosen for yourself. You care more about your career. We have a lot of money saved…" he said.

"Which will run out unless one of us finds a CAREER, not some stupid bartending job" she says cutting him off.

"..AND I make good money while I'M THE ONE who will find the career" he said finishing his point.

"Why can't we both have a career Finn? We talked about this." she said.

"No, YOU talked about this. You said after a few years on Broadway, you would want to settle down for awhile and have children and raise them" he said getting ingredients out to make a sandwich.

"Right, but things change because you lost your job. Didn't matter whether or not I wanted to go back to work" she said walking away.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"Going to get ready. I'm going on that audition" she said slamming their bedroom door.

When Finn finished his sandwich, he went to their bedroom to change. He noticed she was in the bathroom getting ready, so he quietly changed and grabbed his keys. He left without saying goodbye. _She's so gonna kill me for this, but this will teach her a lesson_, he thought as he shut the door and left.

_Shit,_ Finn thought to himself as he was walking down the stairs. _I can't leave without telling her, because of Zack._ Finn walked back through their door, and straight to their master bathroom. He opened the door and Rachel was already out of the shower drying herself off.

"Finn, I really don't want to argue about this anymore because I need to be in a good mood when I audition in an hour" she said drying her hair with the towel.

"I'm done talking about it too. I just came in here to tell you I'm leaving for work, and Zack should be getting up any minute so keep an ear out" he said as he walked out of the bathroom an through their bedroom door.

"Finn!" Rachel yelled out, and then she started to follow him. She was dripping wet naked, but she didn't care. "You can't leave, I have no one to watch Zack" she said staring him down.

"Not my problem" he said.

"Fine, I'm calling Nick and he'll do it. He's always there for me" she says as she goes to grab her phone.

"You are NOT calling that fish killer to come over here and watch our son" he said walking towards her.

"Not my problem Finny" she said starting to dial. "You won't stay home, I have no one else".

"But that's just it Rachel…if you can't find a babysitter for tonight, how will you find one 5 days week?" he asked her taking her phone from her hand.

"I assume you'd stay home, and quit the bar." she said quieting her voice.

"Go on your audition" he said putting his head down.

"You'll stay home?" she asked him smiling.

"No…you're going to take Zack with you. You want this job that bad, you'll figure it out" he said patting her shoulder as he started to walk away. "I'm not quitting the bar. I love my family, and I want to contribute monetarily" he said walking out the door.

Finn is no longer going to let Rachel make all the decisions. But he knows this potential soap opera gig will pay good money, and it will bring a stable income in. He's just scared and will feel defeated if she finds a job before him, and he'll be the one who is Mr. Mom. Most importantly, he knows if he ever wants sex again, that he'll have to allow her to do what makes her happy.

When Rachel finished getting ready, she started to fill the diaper bag with everything she can think of, because she doesn't know how long this audition will last. When she arrives to the studios, she is a few minutes late. She's already thinking she lost her chance when she arrived late, and on top of it…with her baby.

"Hi Ms. Berry, I'm the executive producer of All My Children. It's very nice to meet you" the guy said.

"Thank you, same here. I'm sorry I had to bring my son with, but I couldn't find a babysitter on such short notice" she said putting the diaper bag down on a chair. "But don't worry, he'll just sit here in his car seat, he's very good" she said in a convincing manor.

"Not a problem Ms. Berry, but I hope this means you won't be missing work because you can never find a babysitter" he says.

"No, No Sir. Absolutely not. I have a regular babysitter, it's just that she is at funeral today" she says lying. _I better find an f'n babysitter pronto…that or my husband better quit his stupid little bartender job _she thinks to herself faking a smile.

"Ok, well let's get started shall we?" he said.

"Great" Rachel said sitting the car seat down on the floor next to a chair where she put the diaper bag on. "Where's the script that you would like me to read?" she asked proudly.

"Actually…not sure if Nick told you, but we prefer you to sing for your audition" he said taking a seat behind the desk.

"Oh ok, sure" Rachel said somewhat confused. "What's the part?" she asked.

"You're a lounge singer" he said grabbing a pen and writing something down on a piece of paper.

"Ohhh ok" Rachel said enthusiastically. Of course, Rachel's mind went to Roxie or Velma in Chicago, so she was ok with her role. "Then I suppose it's a glamorous and lonely role huh? I'm just trying to feel the part" she said smiling big.

"Oh no worries…It's not exactly glamorous. You'll be playing a lounge singer, but also a hooker. You have been servicing a few of the elite business men in the area, but no one knows about it" he said with a straight face. "And you also were the guardian to the child from your ex-wife" he said.

"Wife?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, you used to be a lesbian until you divorced her and decided to join the convent…then you realized it wasn't the life for you. So, you ran away, but needed a way to make money. You've been a whore ever since" he said smiling. "And now you just moved into Pine Valley".

"Ohhh ok, well I hope I won't have to audition for the hooker part of the role" she said trying to make a joke. "Orrrr, the lesbian" she said hesitantly.

"That won't be necessary. We saw your scenes in Spring Awakening. You got that sex part down" he said laughing with the other 2 producers who are also in the room. "Of course, we're not sure about the lesbian part, but your singing is all we want to hear, and then maybe have you read a few lines afterwards."

"Right" she said taking a deep sigh.

"Ok, go ahead and sing us whatever you want Rachel." He said.

"Ok" she said trying to think of a song to sing. As soon as she thought of it, she looks at all 3 of them in the eye, and starts to belt it out.

As Rachel is singing, Zachary starts to cry. _Nooooo, please stop, _she thinks to herself as she kept singing. Zack continued to get louder and move around, as if he's trying to get out of the car seat. Rachel didn't even bother to stop her song, she kept singing as she slowly made her way to his car seat to unbuckle him and hold him.

She never missed a beat. She kept singing the song, and she didn't miss any words as well. Rachel didn't even stop to think of how she was pulling this multi-tasking off. As Rachel kept singing the song, Zack kept squirming because he really wanted to get down. Once a baby learns how to walk, they never can sit for very long. Rachel ended up putting him down, and continued to the third verse of the song. Zack walked over to the diaper bag and kept pulling things out of it, and all Rachel can think of was how she was hoping this would end as soon as possible. She didn't let the producers see that. She faked the biggest smile possible while Zack continued to pour everything out of the diaper bag. He had grabbed Chad's fish food, because Rachel was in such a hurry to leave, she just threw everything in that bag without thinking. As Rachel continues to sing the last few notes, Zack is toying with the top and attempts to eat the fish food. Rachel's mind was going everywhere, but she couldn't 'show her anxiety, because she is a professional actor.

As soon as Rachel ended her song, she ran over to the floor to start to pick up all of the stuff Zack had thrown on the ground. She grabbed the food from Zack's hands and made sure the cap was sealed.

"Very nice thank you" one of the producers said.

"Uhhh ok…do you want me to read any lines?" she asked as she continued to stuff the diaper bag with all the things from the floor.

"No, no need. We'll give you a call tonight or tomorrow. You can go now" he said to her.

"Sir, I apologize" Rachel said as she picked up Zack in her hands. This is not normally how things go. I really would like a chance to read a line or two for you before I leave" she asked pleading.

"Ok, here's the script" one of the producers said as he walked over to Rachel to hand it to her. "Go ahead and read a few lines" he said smiling walking back to his chair.

"Thank you" Rachel said in relief thinking she may still have a shot. She looked at the script and began to read from it:

"Well, Mr. Hucklewagon, I'm not sure you can afford me. I've been working the streets ever since I left that convent. And let me tell you, some of the nuns in there paid me more to get them off then what you're offering me" Rachel said being the part of her role. Rachel looked up at them to see if she should go on.

"Go ahead and read that last line there Rachel, and that should be good" the producer said.

"Do you know how hard it was to whore it up in that convent? I was looking at the Lord's face every night, while I was pulling tricks with some of those nuns. I had a few of them on their backs pleading for more, like I was handing out communion wafers for free. And do you know how many marks and bruises I have on my face due to those huge gold crosses swatting me as I rocked them back in forth with those big rubber dildos" Rachel said proudly until she realized what she had just said. She instantly covered Zack's ears from her own words.

"Thanks Rachel, that's good" the producer said.

"Um sir, can you say that on daytime television?" she asked.

"Not really…that was a script from the rated r movie the character is based off of. We wanted to see how serious you were about this part and to see if you would do anything for it. Looks like you passed, congratulations" the producer said smiling.

"Really? I got the part?" she asked leaning her head in waiting for it to be confirmed.

"Yes, we've never seen anyone multi-task the way you did. I mean that song you sang was perfection, and for you to do that with your son screaming and throwing things in the background? Amazing!" he said proud of her.

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down" she said putting Zack down to walk.

As Rachel continued to gather her things, she turned around to ask one more question.

"When do I start?" she asked putting her hand on the door handle.

"You start Monday, 8am sharp" he said as she smiled and walked out the door.

"Well Zachary, that's how we Broadway stars do it" she said holding her head up high and walking to the elevator. It wasn't until she was going down in the elevator 'till she realized the part she'll be playing.

_Aaaand, here we go again,_ she thought to herself as she figured she's going to have to tell Finn about this part. Also, he's going to have to stay home as well.

END OF CHAPTER 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own All My Children, nor have I ever seen it. I just know they film it in New York. My apologies to nuns and the Christian faith as well. _


	4. Berry and Hudson's Weird Games

_**Thanks again for the reviews…wanted to get this out before Rachel's big party lol. Spin the bottle? Should have done "Strobe Light Twister" ;)**_

When Rachel got through the door of their condo, she let out a huge sigh of relief. She unbuckled Zack from his car seat and grabbed her cell phone to call Nick to tell him the good news.

"That's great news babe" Nick said on the phone after hearing she got the job. "I'm in the neighborhood actually, I'll stop by" he said.

"You are such a stalker" she jokingly said. "But yeah, come on over" she said as she started to make Zack dinner.

5 minutes later, Rachel was letting Nick in their condo and he headed straight to their fridge.

"More wine?" Rachel asked giving him a funny look.

"Yeah, it's your fault for getting me started today…and I don't have to work so I just sit around and drink all day" he said half joking as he pours himself a glass of wine from the opened bottle that was in their fridge.

"That's nice…maybe you can star in a musical production of Intervention" she said laughing.

"Funny…Do you want a glass?" he asked smiling.

"No thank you…I have to feed Zack, bathe him, and then get him ready for bed" she said sighing of exhaustion. "Maybe if I'm not tired enough, I can sit down and relax and have one later" she said thinking about how nice it would be to relax and do nothing.

"Everything ok?" he asked her as he sat down at their kitchen table.

"Yeah everything's fine. I'm just thinking about the new job, and how I'm going to do all of this while Finn is gone every night working", she said as she continued to chop vegetables up in small pieces for Zack.

"Won't Finn quit that bartending job and be home every night with you?" he asked taking a sip of his wine.

"I honestly don't think he will. He's playing Mr. Tough Guy lately, and I have a feeling he won't budge on this. I don't think he ever truly got over Spring Awakening and what I put him through. This is his way of being in control, since he seems to think that I'm the only one who calls the shots in our family" she said frowning. "I have known Finn long enough to know how he operates. He's trying to prove a point with him being the man of the house, AND…" Rachel says loudly pointing to Nick with the knife in her hand, "…he's also trying to get me jealous of him tending bar to all the hot girls every night" she said smirking.

"That Finn is a lot more clever then he leads on to be huh?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "But why would he try to make you jealous? What's the advantage of that?" he asked.

"Because of all those times you and I were caught holding hands for the newspapers…or, well, you know? Just making out on stage every night and you caressing my naked breasts didn't help" she said while picking up Zack and putting him in his high chair. "I think he's trying to prove a point, and turn the tables on me now" she said putting food in front of Zack.

"Ahhh yes, let's do that play again!" Nick said enthusiastically, while holding his glass up towards Rachel.

"Niiiiick…" Rachel said shooting him a look.

"I'm kidding…I'm kidding" he said interrupting her, knowing what she was going to say. "Look, I know I was an ass towards Finn the last few years, but I think he's a good guy…and I think you should go to that bar tonight and check up on him" he said grinning.

"I don't have a babysitter, and you can't watch Zack, you're half drunk. Not to mention that Finn would freak out if I left you alone with Chad" she said helping Zack take food in his mouth.

"No, but you can put Zack to bed first and I'll just chill on the couch, and you can be back before Finn comes home. You're not going to stay until he closes right?" he asked with a higher voice. "And you can just tell Finn that someone else is watching Zack…it's not a big deal".

"Well, I suppose I can go for an hour or so just to see who these sleezy girls are that he's serving too every night" she said rolling her eyes.

_2 hours later…_

Rachel walks out of Zachary's bedroom and closes the door softly. She walks through the hallway and can see Nick falling asleep on their couch.

"Nick?" she asks quietly as she walks over to the couch and nudges him. "I'm leaving to go spy on my husband. Are you ok to stay here? I got the monitor on in case you hear him, but he should be down for the night" she said walking over to their hall closet to grab her coat.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm good. Sorry, this is why day drinking is bad" he says squinting his eyes.

"I hear ya Nicholas. Thanks for staying…I should be back in 2 hours tops" she said as she tapped his shoulder and walked away.

When Rachel arrived at the bar, it was already pretty loud and rowdy. She has been there a few times when she and Finn were living down the block, but she doesn't remember it being this crazy. She was carded by the bouncer, which was a first, because they never had a bouncer before.

When she got through the crowd of people to reach the bar, she spotted Finn who was pouring shots in a shot glass for a group of girls. She didn't take her eyes off what he was doing, and noticed he poured a shot for himself. As her eyes widened, she watched all 4 of them, including Finn, clinging their shot glasses and downing them. The girls through him a few singles and walked away, and Finn just smiled and grabbed the empty shot glasses to clean.

"Finn! Finn!" she yelled out as she squeezed her way to a seat at the bar.

"Rachel? Baby what are you doing here? Where's Zachary?" Finn surprisingly asked as he walked over to Rachel to give her a kiss on the cheek.

_Damn you Finn, you are always so cute, it makes it almost impossible to be mad at you,_ Rachel thought as he smiled after he gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I wanted to come and give you the good news" she said almost stuttering. "I got the job Finn" she said to him.

"You got what babe? I can't hear you sorry, you have to speak up!" he said to her because the bar was loud, and then someone called his name out.

"Fud! Come on, I need a beer!" this girl yelled out to him.

"Hold on Rach, let me get a beer for this customer" he said touching her hand and then walking away.

Rachel watched Finn walk away from her and grab a beer and hand it to that girl. She smiled and stared him down the whole time. She also leaned in and whispered something in his ear, but she couldn't decipher what she said.

"Sorry babe, it's real busy tonight you know..it's a Friday" Finn said smiling at Rachel. "Anyway…what were you saying?" he asked her half interested.

"I was SAYING…I got the job at All My Children today" she said almost spelling out the words for him.

"Whose Children babe?" he asked her confused. Finn had knew she was going on an audition for a soap opera but he doesn't remember if she told him which one and he has no idea what she's saying.

"MY children!" she yelled out almost losing patience.

"We only have one babe, you have more?" Finn asked her as he was tugged on the shoulder by a girl who wanted his attention. "Hold on Rach" he said to her, as he tended to the girl who tugged on his shoulder.

"Great idea Nick" Rachel said to herself shaking her head.

"Here" Finn said handing Rachel a drink.

"I-I-I didn't order a drink darling" she said snidely.

"I know, it's on the house. Lucky you know the bartender" Finn said with his signature half smile.

"Yeah" Rachel said shooting him a look. "I know him alright" she said downing the drink.

"Hey Fud!" a girl yells out running to the bar. "I didn't know you work here now" she said.

Rachel just watched this entire encounter and started to feel anxiety. _I think I was better not knowing what goes on around here, _she thinks to herself.

"Hey Fud, I could use another drink here" Rachel yells out hitting her glass on the bar a few times.

"Uhh yeah babe, I'll be right there" Finn yells out to her signaling 'one minute'.

"Who's that Fud, your wife?" the girl jokingly asks while laughing.

"Actually….she is" he answers her smiling.

"Oh" the girl says surprised. "Well I better be on my best behavior" the girl says leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "We need a few more vodka tonics here Finny" she says walking away to her table.

Rachel notices this, but is trying to keep her head on straight. _Ok, I know what that whore was doing, she was just trying to take claim of MY man, but too bad for her he's taken,_ she thinks to herself as she shoots her a look.

"Rachel" Finn says as he walks over to her. He knows she's watching this entire situation, and he doesn't want there to be a problem.

"What Finn? Where's my drink?" she asked him angrily.

"I know what you're thinking" he says to her as he is making her another vodka and cranberry.

"What's that Finn?" she asks as she looks around the bar for more sleezy girls.

"I told you last night babe, this is all acting. I'm doing this for US" he says to her while handing her another drink.

"How sweet of you Finn" she says shooting him a look and taking a very large sip of her drink.

"Come on Rachel, you of all people have no room to say anything. You made out with Nick for 3 years" he said while washing some glasses.

"Stop bringing this up Finn…I was ACTING" she said leaning into him.

"So am I" he bit back.

"No Finn…this is a BAR…not BROADWAY" she said as she started to down her drink.

"Please leave, I'm working and you are a buzz kill" he said to her as he walked away.

_That mother fucker, I'm a buzz kill? A BUZZ KILL? I'll show him a good time alright, and what acting is all about,_ she thinks to herself. Rachel grabs the attention of Stephanie who just walked out from the kitchen.

"Hey Rachel, how are you? Glad you stopped in tonight? Isn't this great how busy we are?" she said as she wiped the bar around Rachel's area.

"Yeah, thanks for hiring my husband" she said to her trying to be nice.

"Yeah, he saved us. We have been short bartenders, because we started doing theme nights and doing radio advertising. We sorta changed our image, and Finn is a good fit to attract all the ladies. Hope you don't mind we are borrowing your hunky husband Rachel" she says nudging her shoulder.

As soon as Stephanie recognized Rachel's frown, she immediately tried to remedy what she said. "Of course, he is doing this all for you guys" Stephanie said putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I heard" Rachel said smiling, "Give me a re-fill please" she said slamming her empty glass on the bar.

"You can have whatever you want Rachel…all on the house" Stephanie said refilling her drink.

As the night progresses, Rachel's getting more buzzed and Finn's buttons on his shirt start to loosen up as the hours go. She notices how much he sweats, but how hot he looks from his shirt half buttoned and his shiny, sweaty hair. She doesn't think he's looking back at her, but he stares at her each time she's not looking at him. Finn is a pro at staring at her without her noticing.

As Rachel continues to sit at the bar alone, a very good looking guy comes up to her to offer to buy her a drink.

"Hi" the guys says smiling and leaning into her.

"Hi" Rachel says back trying not to be rude.

"I'm going to be upfront and not waste any of our time. I'd like to buy you a drink" the guys says smiling.

"Ok, but I'm married" she says showing him her ring on his finger.

"That's fine with me, is there a crime against buying a drink for a married woman?" the guy asks nicely.

"Not that I know of! In fact…let me buy YOU a drink…I have some pull at this bar" she said smiling and waving over to Stephanie.

"Thanks" the guy says as he takes a seat next to Rachel.

Rachel tries to waive Stephanie down, but she's too busy and doesn't notice her. Finn glances over and sees that Rachel has been trying to waive her down but no luck, so he walks over to her, not noticing the guy is with Rachel at this point.

"What do you want Berry?" Finn asks her snidely. Finn NEVER calls Rachel by her maiden name, unless it's to reference the "high school Rachel" that he loved, but would break it out when he wanted to refer to her as a metaphor for her being childish and selfish.

"Well HUDSON, me and my friend here would like 2 vodka cranberries" she said throwing money down on the bar. She knows she was getting free drinks from Stephanie, but out of spite, does not want anything free from Finn.

"Sure" Finn says grabbing the money off the bar and walking away to make their drinks.

"What tells me there's something, or USED TO BE something that has gone on between you two" the guy said pointing to Finn and back to Rachel.

"It's a long story" Rachel said sighing.

"That's a good enough answer for me" he said smiling back and resting his hand on her shoulder.

When Finn gets back, he sees his hand on her shoulder and immediately starts to get furious, but doesn't want to show it so that Rachel 'wins' this fight. He knows that if he punches the guy out, which is exactly what he wants to do, will only give Rachel more ammunition.

"Here's your drinks guys" he said to them smiling. "So how do you guys know each other?" he asked eagerly waiting for the answer.

"Oh, we've known each other for awhile now. We met in Chicago at a Bulls game" he said smiling, trying to make up a story for the bartender.

"What!" Rachel and Finn both said in unison.

"Chicago?" Finn asked as he looked at Rachel confused.

"Uhhh, what? NO, I was never at a Bulls game….in Chicago" she said not believing of all places this guy brings up is Chicago. She knows he's trying to play around with the bartender, but what he doesn't know is that the bartender is her husband, and she spent an entire 3 months alone in Chicago for Spring Awakening a couple years back.

"Yeah…it was a suite I had rented for the playoffs, and she was eating alone at this sushi restaurant so I asked her if she wanted to come along." he said to Finn smiling.

"Ohhh really?" Finn said looking at Rachel nodding his head.

"Uhhh…" Rachel couldn't think of anything else to say because of shock. She took the guy and nudged him over to the corner of the bar to explain the situation.

"What?" the guy said to Rachel. "You are CRAZY! What am I part of some weird sex adventure with you two?" he yelled at her. "That's your husband and you're flirting with a guy like me…he could have punched me out!" he said throwing his arms up and walking out of the bar.

Rachel just put her head down and walked towards the bar. She sat back in her chair and grabbed her drink to take another sip.

"Trouble in paradise?" Finn asked her as he wiped the bar. He knows something went wrong, and wants to make fun of her for that guy walking out on her.

"Very funny" she said trying to break a smile.

"You didn't know that guy did you?" he asked her half smiling.

"No, he wanted to buy me a drink, and IRONICALLY, brought up Chicago. I told him I was married, but he didn't know I was married to YOU!" she said emphasizing.

"He was pretty good looking" Finn says sighing.

"….yeah?" Rachel says not knowing where Finn is going with this.

"I forget how beautiful you are. You can have ANY guy in New York City…hell, you can have any guy in the WORLD, and you chose me!" he said throwing his arms up.

As soon as Finn said that, he leaned over the bar and grabbed Rachel and kissed her very passionately. She was so taken off guard, that she barely had time to respond to his kiss. She just let him kiss her and welcomed the affection.

"Wow" Rachel said stepping back.

"I love you Rachel" he said to her smiling.

"I love you too Finn" she said smiling back.

"I have to go back to work though…will you wait up for me tonight when I get home?" he asked her.

"I'll try baby, but I'm figuring you get home late, and I'm already drunk, and who knows what Nick is doing…" she said slipping Nick's name.

"Nick?" he asked confused.

"Huh?" she asked knowing exactly what she said.

"Is Nick watching Zack right now?" he asked her very serious.

"Yes, yes he is" Rachel said not wanting to lie. She's tired of any secrets they may keep from each other. "Look, FINN…I'm sure your stupid fish is ok" she said to him.

"It's not about Chad Rachel…although I do worry about him in Nick's company. It's the fact that I put my foot down and said he's not allowed to babysit, and you completely and blindly disobeyed me" he said angrily.

"Disobeyed you? You're not my father Finn" she argued back.

"No, if I was your father, you would have listened. I'm just stupid guy you control all the time" he said walking away.

"Finn! Finn!" she yelled out to get his attention, but he wouldn't respond.

Rachel watches Finn walk away and tend _to all the slutty girls at the bar._

Rachel grabs her purse and throws money on the bar for a tip and walks out. She looks at her watch and realizes how late it is. _Shit, I better get home. Nick is gonna kill me for being so late._ Rachel is having a hard time finding a cab because she's a lot more drunk than she wanted to be. She grabs her phone and texts Nick.

::on nyw way. srry for being late:: she tries to articulate to him.

_Over at the condo…_

Nick had fallen asleep hours ago on their couch. He wakes up from the vibration that's on his stomach. He left his cell on his stomach so he can feel it, and it did the job. He reads Rachel's text and replies:

::no problem. I have been sleeping the whole time on the couch, see you when you get home::

Rachel read the text as she finally found a cab, and tried to reply:

::jst stay over nick, 2 late n I can use you tmrrow::

Nick reads the text and sighs with a smile:

::no prob babe::

Nick knows they're just friends, but can't help but admit when Rachel is needy of him. He doesn't care if Finn is mad, because Finn is the one who decided to bartend all night and Nick is the one who was there for Rachel at the end. He closes his eyes and falls back asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 4

….don't kill me. I just thought it would be a good "cliffhanger"…I normally end all my chapters with a resolution…and given that Rachel is having some crazy ass party tomorrow and I have no idea what's going to happen…I think it's fun to do the same here? No? Lol


	5. Boxers vs Boxer Briefs

_**Thanks again for the reviews! Sorry I'm not as quick as I was with the first story…work was a lot slower in December. ANYWAY, I already have the next chapter mapped out, so it should be quicker. And, got to admit..that's sort of funny that All My Children is being filmed in L.A now. Sorrrry! We'll just pretend **__**oh and another quick note…I know this is in the future, but since I have no idea what the future will be like (flying cars, powdered meals, etc), we'll just pretend it's future finchel in 2011.**_

When Rachel stumbled through the door, it was well past 2 am. She threw her shoes off in one motion as she continued to walk in the living room to see Nick sleeping on their couch with the TV still on. She walked over to the couch and squeezed her way to sit by his side as he laid there.

"Nick" she whispered as she nudged his shoulder and leaned into him.

"Hey" Nick said quietly as he slowly started to open up his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked, not sure how long he's been sleeping.

"It's a little after 2…I'm so sorry!" she said shaking her head.

"For what?" he asked lifting his head up, looking her in the eyes.

"I'm a lot later than I said I would be…it's not fair to you. You can go now if you want" she said hesitantly.

"No, it's ok…from what I can decipher from your text…I think you said you might need me tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, it's because I think I might be extremely hung over tomorrow, and I'm not sure what Finn plans on doing. He was drinking a lot too, and being an ass…" she said rolling her eyes.

"Was it bad tonight?" he asked interrupting her.

"No, it's just…I mean…we had our moments. Finn is very good at turning on the charm, but then biting back with some harsh words all within the same moment. He's hot or cold. But, he's always been like that…and that's really the only problem I ever had with him. He can make me LOVE him and HATE him all at the same time" she said sighing.

"Yeah, I can see that about him" he said smiling. "Well, I'll stay then. I'm not scared if Finn is mad if I'm here…he knows how long we've been friends…and just like you and Finn…he and I have had our good and bad moments together as well" he said staring in her eyes. "Besides, his God damned fish is still alive" he said glancing over to Chad's huge fish tank.

"Our comparison of moments might be SLIGHTLY different…but I think it's best if you stay here anyway. I it's real late and you're tired, and you were drinking as well earlier…I'd feel better if you stayed in the spare bedroom" she said getting off the couch and grabbing his hand to help him up.

"Where are you going to sleep?" he asked getting off the couch from her pulling him up.

"Umm…in my bed Nicholas" Rachel said rolling her eyes at him.

She always calls him "Nicholas" when he tries to get flirty with her. Nick usually catches on real fast and changes his disposition. Rachel never really feels threatened by his flirtatious ways because it's always been very innocent, and he's never crossed a line where she feels that she needs to break up the friendship. She put him in his place on that New Years Eve a few years back and it's never been a problem. And in a weird way, (although she would never admit it) …Rachel secretly likes it, because it makes her feel sexy. She knows Finn thinks she's sexy, but it's reassuring for her when it comes from someone other than her spouse.

"Ok, I was JUST asking" he said chuckling and throwing his one arm up as he held on to her hand with the other.

"I'll go get you a shirt and pair of shorts of Finn's" she said breaking contact to walk in their bedroom to grab him something to sleep in.

When Rachel walks in their spare bedroom, she sees Nick shirtless with just his boxer briefs on waiting for Rachel to get back with something to wear. _Oh wow, _she thought to herself. She starts to stare at how good he looks, but snaps herself out of it real fast.

"Thanks for the clothes, but I usually sleep like this" he said grabbing them from her hands as she just stood there not saying anything. "What?" he asked her slightly laughing as she was caught staring at him. "You've seen me a lot more naked then this" he said referring to their theatre days. Most people in theatre are a lot less embarrassed with their bodies, and usually walk around freely in their undergarments.

"Uhhh nothing" she said starting to walk out of the bedroom.

"Good night Rachel" he said watching her walk out.

"Good night Nick. Thanks a lot for everything" she said smiling.

"It's nothing Rachel" he said walking towards the bed, moving the covers back.

"It's a lot. The job, you babysitting, and our friendship" she said closing the light and door behind her. Nick just smiled and closed his eyes.

Rachel walked through the hallway and walked into Zack's room and gave him a kiss goodnight. _I think you need a brother or a sister,_ she thought to herself as she took a second to stare at how beautiful he was. After a few minutes, Rachel walked into their master bedroom and got ready for bed.

_An hour later…_

Finn came stumbling in their condo. He didn't plan on drinking as much as he did, but he wasn't used to all the girls wanting to buy him shots. It also didn't help that he was pissed at Rachel, and it made him want to rebel even more. _God, it's been so long since we've been intimate,_ he thought to himself. They haven't had sex in months. There has been so much stress from neither of them working, and he feels that a lot of the stress stems from his decision to buy an expensive condo in an expensive neighborhood. _Now, we're stuck,_ he thinks to himself as he sits on a chair in the kitchen to take off his shoes and compose himself. He normally wouldn't mind letting Rachel work on that soap opera while he stays home, but since he feels that it's his fault, he felt guilty allowing her to bail them out.

After Finn starts to stress out about all their problems…he walks over to the fridge to grab a beer. Apparently he's not done drinking, and he knows he's going to regret it tomorrow but he doesn't care. He just hates the fact that Rachel always seems so sure of herself and her career, and she makes all the decisions. And of course, the one decision he makes, turned out to be a huge problem. _I have to keep working so we can afford this place…it's MY responsibility, _he argues with Rachel in his head.

Finn is extremely drunk, and walks over to Chad's fish tank. He hovers over it and hugs it, while he opens the top to look down at Chad.

"You're the only one I love. Do you want a beer Chad? Will you have a beer with me?" he says to the fish.

Finn walks over to the fridge to grab Chad a beer. He walks back over to the fish tank and starts to pur the beer into the water.

"They're you go buddy…I hate drinking alone" he said smiling. He is so out of it that he doesn't even realize what he's doing. Finn empties the entire beer into the tank and smiles. "Ok, goodnight" he says tapping the glass and walking away.

He starts to walk towards their bedroom and he stops right before he opens the door. _No, I don't want to sleep with her tonight_, he thinks to himself. _Fuck her,_ he thinks as he starts to walk away. _Although, I really do want to fuck her,_ he thinks as he starts to walk back towards the door. _Nah, forget it,_ he thinks as he turns around once more to walk to the spare bedroom. He throws his clothes off as he walks towards the bed, and he gets under the covers and closes his eyes.

Nick slightly wakes up from the noise and thinks its Rachel who welcomed his invitation from earlier. He moves over to the body that just got into bed and he made contact with what he thought was her. Finn felt something, but was so out of it that he assumed it was Rachel. He was so confused because of how drunk he was. He thought he went into the spare room, but then he thought maybe so did Rachel because she was just as equally as mad. He ignored it and fell asleep.

_The next morning…_

Rachel shifted around the sheets as the sunlight crept into their bedroom. She slowly opened her eyes and realized she was alone.

_Finn never came home?_, she thought to herself. _I'm so going to fucking kill him._ She slowly lifted her head up and felt the pounding from her headache. She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to grab some aspirin. She splashed some water on her face and walked out towards the hallway. She noticed the spare bedroom door still closed and Zachary was still sleeping. She went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

_Oh God, this is going to be a long day_, she thought to herself as she started to put the coffee grounds into the filter. Rachel sighed and went to the cabinet as she grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet. She went over to the television to turn it off, because she realized it was on since last night. When she grabbed the remote, she realized the fish tank was extremely cloudy. _Oh my God what is that?_ She thought to herself as she took a closer look into the tank again and noticed that she couldn't see Chad. She kept looking around and saw nothing but cloudiness, until she lifted her head up from the top and saw Chad floating on top. Dead.

_Ohhhhh no, Finn is going to freak out! _She thought to herself. _What did Nick do? It looks like he poured something in there. Did he actually kill Chad on purpose because I told him I hated that fish? Finn is going to divorce me over this!_ she thought as she walked away from the tank.

As soon as the coffee finished, Rachel poured herself a cup and sighed as she took a sip. She decided to go in the spare room to wake up Nick, because she figured when Finn gets home, he's going to kill him when he finds out about Chad. She pushed the door open and almost spit out her coffee at what she saw.

"Oh my God" she said calmly, staring at the both of them lying there in bed together.

Finn picked his head up and looked towards Rachel standing by the door, then turned to the left and saw Nick lying on his stomach.

"Uhhh Rachel this is NOT what it looks like" he said trying to figure out what happened.

"Looks like you slept with Nick last night Finny" she said exiting the room and walking back towards the kitchen. Rachel starts to giggle to herself because of their entire history. Finn has always hated Nick and vice versa. Nick has always had this unspoken crush on Rachel, and the irony from this entire situation is that Finn ended up sleeping with Nick in the same bed. She then starts to laugh out loud thinking of the absurdity of Chad dying as well. Rachel has completely lost it. She just keeps laughing.

"Whoa" Finn comes charging into the kitchen in his boxers, towards Rachel. "I SLEPT with him, but I didn't SLEEP with him" Finn says motioning his arm towards Rachel.

"Rach…I didn't know he was sleeping with me" Nick comes following in his boxer briefs towards Finn and Rachel.

Rachel just stares at both of them in their underwear and starts to laugh and shake her head at the same time. Finn recognizes that she's looking at both of them and what they have "to offer", so he starts to stand taller and put his hands on his hips sucking in his stomach. Nick has always had a six pack and Finn has never felt threatened by it, until this moment. He realizes that Nick's underwear is a bit closer fitting and better showcasing his "business", and Finn looks like he's hiding behind his boxers. And there is Rachel getting to compare both of them side by side.

"Ok this is WEIRD" Finn says angrily. "Why is HE here in the first place?" he asks pointing towards Nick with his hand.

"You knew he was babysitting" Rachel said taking a sip of her coffee, calm as a cucumber.

"Yeah, but I didn't know you were spending the night!" Finn said looking at Nick.

"Finn!" Rachel said interrupting him, while slightly glancing at Nick's business. "I told him to spend the night because I got home late and I knew I would be hungover and thought I might need help with Zack" she said sighing.

"What about me?" Finn asked, also recognizing that she was looking at him.

"Exactly Finn…what ABOUT you? You chose to bartend every night now, and I saw you downing those shots with all those girls…I wasn't expecting you to be able to be a responsible father today." She said looking at him furiously.

"Come on guys…look, I was helping Rachel out" Nick said looking at Finn. "And she wanted to let loose and hang with you in the bar…that's all Finn" he said to him. "I spent the night in the spare room, and the real question is…why did you go in there in the first place?" he asked Finn, then looking at Rachel with a smile.

"Fuck you!" Finn said towards Nick. "Me, going into a different room is none of your business. I went in there because I wasn't feeling good and didn't want to bother Rachel" he said lying, but wasn't going to give Nick the satisfaction of being right.

"Whatever!" Nick said walking towards the bedroom to grab his clothes. "I'm not going to be in the middle your crazy fights" he said.

Finn and Rachel both look at each other in disappointment with each other. Nick got dressed and walked out of the room very quickly and walked towards the hall closet to grab his coat and keys.

"Good luck guys, seriously" he said looking at both of them. "I can't handle your craziness anymore. I am sick of being hated for all the things I do" he said slamming the door as he left.

"Well that was rude" Finn said to Rachel as he walked out.

"No…he's RIGHT Finn…we always have to have the most ridiculous fights" she said walking passed him in the kitchen. "By the way…your fish is dead" she said going in their bedroom and slamming the door.

Finn watched Rachel walk away, and then registered what she had said. He rushed over to the fish tank to see if what she said was true.

"What the fuck?" he said out loud, looking over the fish tank. He noticed how cloudy and disgusting the water was, and the noticed poor Chad floating on top of the tank. _How did this happen_? He thought to himself. He rewound the events in his head, and it was mostly fuzzy, but he realized then that he had wanted to share a beer with Chad.

"Mother Fucker!" he yelled out loud and kicked the stand that Chad's tank was resting on. As soon as he yelled that out, he heard Zack crying from his bedroom. He quickly walked over to Zack's bedroom to get him out and take care of him. As soon as he got to Zack's door, Rachel had approached him and hit him on the shoulder.

"First of all, watch your language because Zack is going to start swearing before he even goes to preschool….SECONDLY, I'm taking care of him. You are obviously angry and I don't want an angry person around our child" she said pushing her way into the room.

Finn just sighed because he knew she was right. He was angry more at himself for being jealous, because he knows he was an asshole to Rachel last night. He is not really even sure why he gets so mad, but he is starting to think that he can't handler her being so independent.

A few hours later, Rachel had put Zack down for a nap and Finn had gone to take a shower. She went into their bedroom to fold laundry, as she started to get heated up again over the events from last night and this morning. She and Finn haven't said a word to each other since Zack has been up, because Finn was afraid to open his mouth, and Rachel made a conscious decision to not fight in front of her child.

When Finn got out of the shower, he dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist. He exited the bathroom to walk over to his nightstand to grab some boxers and a shirt. He didn't even make eye contact with Rachel when we walked right past her.

"Ok Finn…I know you are avoiding me" she said, while continuing to the fold the laundry on their bed.

"I'm not intentionally trying to ignore you…it's just that I don't want to fight. I know I was an asshole last night to you, and I didn't want to anger you more in front of Zack" he said putting his boxers on.

"Yeah, you were an asshole" she said not looking up at him and staying focused on the laundry. "I enjoyed our kiss last night and then you had to go and ruin it by getting so angry over Nick" she said finally looking up at him. "I mean, I know that sounds weird to say that I enjoyed a simple kiss from my husband, but we haven't kissed in a long time. It was nice to be passionate again, even if it was in public at a bar" she said letting out a small laugh.

"I don't know why I get so jealous. And I'm sure you got your revenge this morning when you saw that I ended up sleeping in the same bed as him all night" he said shaking his head. "And yeah" he said walking over to her. "I enjoyed our kiss too" he said putting his hands on her shoulder and smiling.

Rachel just looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and he slowly pushed her down on the bed and started to kiss her neck.

"Finn" she said breathing out.

"Rachel" he said in between kisses.

"No…no" she said hitting his back lightly. "You're messing up the laundry, we have to get up, I just folded all of this" she said complaining.

"Are you serious?" he said throwing his head up and looking at her disgustingly.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she said as she squirmed from under him to grab the folded clothes off the bed.

"I'm just so sick of you being so orderly, and in charge of every little thing!" he said throwing his hands up.

"Finn…now you're going to start a fight over laundry?" she asked looking at him like he's crazy.

"No, that's just it. It's not the laundry! We haven't had sex in 4 months, and all you can think about is that." He said pointing to the clothes she just folded. "Everything has to be on your terms…your schedule. I had to leave to the morning news so I can accommodate your life…what about OUR life? There's a Finn in this relationship you know" he said walking to their closet to get his clothes on for work.

"Yes, and there's also a Rachel and a Zachary. I asked you to move to the morning news because it fit into our family's life as a whole..not just my schedule. But it's obvious what this is all about now. You are still mad over that, and you are still mad over my scenes from Spring Awakening. All I can say is you better grow up and get over it real fast Finny" she said grabbing the empty laundry basket and leaving their bedroom.

30 minutes later, Finn walked out of their bedroom fully dressed for work. He walked over to the kitchen to grab his keys, and glanced back at Rachel who was sitting on the couch.

"I'm going" he said.

"Have fun" she said not looking at him.

"Are you starting your new job tomorrow?" he asked her, while he stood by their front door.

"Yep" she replied.

"Who's going to watch Zack then, because I am working tomorrow as well. My only day off is Wednesday" he said.

"They have a daycare there. The producers failed to tell me that and let me humiliate myself in the audition, but apparently the company has a daycare for all of the cast member's children. The daycare is called "All Their Children". She said monotone still staring at the TV.

"Oh, why didn't you tell me? This would have solved everything and we wouldn't have fought over this" he asked confused.

"Because I was hoping you'd still want to stay home. You'll never see us, since I'll be leaving early in the morning with Zack, and by the time we get home, you'll be gone every night. I guess you can see us on Wednesdays though…can't wait" she said sarcastically.

"Ok, well goodnight" he said ignoring her comments.

Finn really feels like a jerk, but he wants to test this out for a few weeks. He figures maybe she'll crack first and will quit her job and want to stay home as a full time mother. He is determined to be the bread winner, and is determined to get the attention back that he used to get as evening sports reporter. _Man, I miss that job, _he thinks to himself.

When Finn gets to the bar, it's already crowded.

"You're late Fud" Stephanie yelled out as he walked in.

"Yeah sorry…another lovely fight with the wife" he said walking passed Stephanie to grab an apron.

"Finn…if this job is going to ruin your marriage, then I demand you leave it right now" she said pointing towards the door and smiling at him.

"Thanks Steph…I just…I NEED this job for more reasons then you think" he said picking up the empty bottles from the bar.

"You don't need anything if it's going to destroy your family. That ALWAYS comes first. Tell me what's the problem" she said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, Rachel got a job on All My Children, and she starts tomorrow.."

"That's fantastic!" she said interrupting him.

"Yeah, well for HER. She wants me to quit this job and stay home with Zack while she works all day" he said throwing his arm up.

"Sounds to me that you are jealous" she said grabbing onto his arm.

"I'm NOT jealous!...I mean, I just want it to go back to where we were…" he said.

"Before you lost YOUR job?" she asked. "Because as I recall…it seemed to me that you had a few problems with her being in that musical with Nick" she said.

Finn doesn't respond. He just continues to clean the bar and shake his head.

"Look Finn…you have to come to some sort of compromise. I know you're not going to stay here forever…you have a college degree and a great resume. You are way too good looking to be tending bar to these young girls. I'm sure that's why Rachel wants you to quit…but it's temporary" she said trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't?" he asked stopping and looking her in the eyes, hoping she has the answer.

"You need to relax…she hasn't even started the soap opera yet. Maybe you should stay home and spend time with your family. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love you being here, but you're a friend first, not just some employee. You don't need the money if Rachel is a full time soap opera star" she said.

"She's NOT a star yet…she hasn't even started yet!" he yelled back.

"Whoa Finn…you definitely need to talk to your wife I think" she said, realizing just how jealous he is of her stardom.

"I'm working here, because I like it. I need to get out of the house everyday. This will be fine" he said to her.

"But who's going to watch your son while you work here every night?" she asked him nicely.

"They have a daycare at the studios. She's going to take him every day over there" he said asking a customer what they need.

"But you'll never see your family then" she said hitting his shoulder. "Look, I don't want to see you guys fight. I love Rachel. I have an idea that you can present to her, that might ease the tension. WHILE…you look for that hot reporter job…you should watch Zack every morning and then take him to the daycare before you leave for work. THIS. WAY, it shows that you want to help support the family, but you are still the man of the house by going to work every night" she says making air quotes to 'man of the house'.

"Yeah, that's a great idea actually! I was feeling like an asshole that I wouldn't see Zachary everyday…like LITERALLY never see him, and I knew I was wrong for that. But, THIS…this makes me look like a good guy, and I still get to work. You are a genius!" he said kissing her on the cheek.

_Later that night…_

Finn walked through the door around 4am, and threw his shirt off immediately. Rachel told him to throw his clothes in the laundry room before he even goes to bed. She didn't want it in the same hamper as her clothes, because of all the sleezy girls touching him all night. She said she didn't want to catch anything. He went directly towards their bed and climbed up on top of Rachel. He started to kiss her cheek and then just above her ear to try and wake her up. He was very eager to tell her that he would stay home with Zack in the day and then take him to daycare before he leaves for work everyday. But most importantly, he really just wanted to see if she wanted to have sex.

"Finn" Rachel quietly started to wake up. "What time is it?" she asked him while he kept kissing her and moving his hands down to her waist.

"Hi baby, it's late, but I want to tell you something" he said continuing to kiss her.

"What?" she groggily asked. "Are you leaving me for a much perkier girl from the bar?" she said.

"No, you're still perky…give me a few more years for that" he bravely said trying to joke back.

They used to joke like that all the time, but it sort of changed when Rachel joined Spring Awakening, and both of them really started to grow into their looks. They both got very good looking, which was great for them, but not so much great for their self esteem when it came to the other.

"Thank you" she said smiling with her eyes still closed. "But, what is it? I have to get up for work soon, and I can't be late for first day. PLUS, I have to get Zack ready too" she purposely said making the point that Finn would not stay home.

"No, you won't be late, because I'll be at home with Zack" he said lifting his elbows up on the bed and looking down at her.

"You quit the bar?" she said, suddenly waking up from the excitement and opening her eyes.

"Not quite…but I know we have to learn how to compromise here…so I'm going to stay home with Zack in the day, then I'll drop him off at the daycare before I leave for work" he said kissing her forehead and waiting for her response.

Rachel didn't show any emotion when he said that, and he was starting to get scared of what was going to come out of her mouth. She closed her eyes for a minute, then re-opened them a few seconds later and smiled.

"Thank you" she said closing her eyes again.

"Yeah?" he asked her smiling back.

"Well, I'm a little scared that this is going to put a huge strain on our marriage since we won't see each other a lot. But if I'm going to be a big movie star one day, this is what it's going to be like when I'm on location for a few months" she said. "It will be good practice" she said glaring off into space thinking about her career.

"Well, I'm off on Wednesdays, and Stephanie insists that I'm home early on Sundays if we're gonna do this. Those will be our family nights" he said kissing her.

"I like family night" she said pushing him away so she can respond. Finn just smiled and went back to kissing her.

"What about a Finchel night?" he said moving his arms down to her waist and trying to pull her shirt up.

"Finn, for the last time, they will ONLY mesh our names together if you are a star too!" she said letting him pull her shirt off of her.

"No way, we had that name in high school" he said making a funny face.

"But it didn't count, I wasn't a star yet" she said trying to argue this.

"Well then I guess I'll have to become a star" he said, moving his hand down and caressing one of her boobs.

"You already are" she said smiling back. "To me and Zachary…and especially now since you're going to stay home in the day with him" she said kissing his shoulder, while he began to suck on her nipple.

Suddenly Rachel's alarm went off and it scared Finn. He grabbed it with his one open hand and threw it down.

"Hey, that's my alarm" she said squirming away.

"But why are you getting up so early?" he asked on his bended knees as she got up from the bed.

"To go to the gym. I have to be in shape if I'm going to be a Soap star. And this is the only time I can go, because you'll be gone every night." She said walking to her dresser to grab her work out clothes.

"Why can't you work out here with me on the bed?" he asked seductively while motioning his head towards the bed.

"I'm sorry Finn, but it's not the same" she said walking towards him to give him a kiss. "Why are you wearing boxer briefs?" she asked him as she glanced down at his underwear and noticed he's not wearing his trademark boxers.

"Well, I figured it's good to change things up once and awhile" he said putting his hands on his hips and trying to suck in his stomach.

Rachel didn't say a word, because she knows why he suddenly made the change from boxers to boxer briefs. She just shook her head and started to walk towards the bathroom.

"Hey, when ARE we going to have sex?" he asked her, feeling defeated.

"Wednesdays" she said smiling, while popping her head out of the bathroom.

"Well, this is great" he said out loud to himself. "I never thought we'd be one of those couples that have to schedule sex" he said falling back down on the bed.

A few minutes later, Rachel walked out of the bathroom refreshed and ready to go to the gym. She saw Finn lying on the bed almost asleep, so she walked over to him. She set her gym bag down for a second, and climbed back up on Finn to give him one final kiss before leaving for the day. She just realized that it will be another 24 hours until she sees him.

"Did you change your mind?" he asked turning his head.

"No, I just want to say goodbye, and I'll call you later with the details of where to drop Zack off. If I'm not shooting, I'll come down and meet you" she said kissing his shoulder.

"Ok" he said, putting his hand on her back and rubbing it. "Good night Rachel" he said, starting to fall asleep.

As Rachel started to walk out, she realized this is going to be very hard for Finn. He'll only have a few hours of sleep before Zack gets up every morning. She's hoping it works out, because she knows that this is the best decision for the both of them.

_Well, if anything, after a few weeks, he'll end up wanting to quit the bar because he'll be so tired,_ she thought to herself as she walked out their front door.

END OF CHAPTER 5

next chapter...Finn is the stay at home dad, while Rachel starts her former lesbian, ex-nun acting job!


	6. Hot Dogs Are Easy to Make, Ok?

**_Thanks again for all the reviews! You guys are awesome...LOVE finchel/rachel fans!_ ps: let me know if you're getting bored with this story and I can wrap it up. I know there's a lot going on in finchel land right now (although not so great...but hopefully regionals will be good)...crosses fingers!**

_2 months later…_

"Come on Zack, eat your hotdog" Finn says to Zack who is helping him eat his lunch. "And don't tell mommy that we feed you hotdogs for lunch, but they're easy and awesome" he said smiling.

"We only got a few minutes until "All My Children" he said wiping his mouth and cleaning up.

Finn never thought he would ever sit and watch a soap opera, but he got totally hooked after a few weeks. He turned it on the first week he stayed home with Zachary, because he was curious of who Rachel was going to play. He wasn't exactly happy about the fact that she plays a hooker, but he's hoping they bring back the lesbian storyline of her character.

After Zack finished eating, Finn wiped him down and brought him to his room to take a nap. He walked out of the room and then to the laundry room where he grabbed the clothes out of the dryer and brought them to the couch to fold and watch All My Children.

"Da daaa dada daaa" he starts to sing the theme song as he starts to fold Rachel's tank tops.

_A half hour later…_

"Nooo, he's totally sleeping with your brother, don't you see that?" Finn shouts at the television as he eats a huge Italian sub and takes a sip of his coke. He gets half of it all over his shirt, but he doesn't care, because he's the one that does the laundry now anyway. He doesn't have to hear Rachel yell at him for always spilling stuff on his clothes, and how she always has to get the stains out.

Then Rachel's part comes up. In the scene she's at the lounge singing a cheesy song that Finn's never heard of, but he moves his feat along with the beat. Rachel's character, "Crystal Cuntington", has been servicing Jake, the manager of the lounge, so she can sing there every Saturday.

_Crystal: Thanks Jake, I've been low on cash. They turned my water off. I've been taking a whore's bath in the McDonalds bathroom off of 63__rd__ street._

_Jake: 'Nough talking Crystal. We don't have much time, so unbutton your blouse and let's get busy_

_Crystal unbuttons her blouse and she's just in her bra._

_What the fuck? I can't believe they show this on daytime television,_ Finn thinks to himself. _Man, my wife looks really good though._ Suddenly Finn looks down at himself and sees how his stomach is getting bigger and bigger. _I'm a sloppy mess_, he frowns.

Finn's diet is something that he's never really had to worry about, but his schedule has never been so erratic. He is also drinking a lot more because when he gets to the bar, everyone wants to buy him a shot. The mixture of lack of sleep, drinking and poor diet has made him gain at least an extra 10-15 pounds…and even though Rachel never really sees him;

_she definitely noticed 4 nights ago…._

"Ow!" Rachel yells out, while Finn is on top of her. His elbow slipped from keeping himself up, and his body crashed right on top of hers. He was already heavy enough before he started gaining weight, and he thinks Rachel felt the difference.

"Sorry baby" he said out of breath and sweaty. Finn can tell his stamina is not as good as it used to be, and he's also not as flexible. He's basically out of shape. He moved off of her and rolled to the side on his back and stared at the wall.

"Finn, it's ok…it just startled me" she hesitantly said, noticing that he's mad about something. "I'm not mad at you" she said taking her hand and rubbing his stomach while kissing his shoulder.

Rachel can feel that Finn has put on weight, especially in his stomach. She rarely sees him, but since he switched from boxers to boxer briefs, his love handles are more prominent. They try to have sex on Wednesday nights, but it doesn't always pan out that way. By the time they get Zachary to bed, Rachel has fallen asleep on the couch. Finn always rolls his eyes and carries Rachel to bed, and she is always out like a light.

"Well, I uhhh…put on some weight I think" he said hoping she really didn't notice. Sometimes when you're the one putting the weight on, you're also the one in denial. Finn can't tell exactly how much he's put on, but he knows he feels sluggish.

"I really didn't notice" Rachel said lying. She doesn't wasn't to offend Finn. "But no worries if you did…I kinda like it…gives me something to grab on to when I'm riding you and you are thrusting into me" she said seductively, while moving on top of him and passionately kissing him.

"Yeah?" he asked her for reassurance, and totally turned on and what she just said.

"Baby, you're fine" she said grinding into him, hoping he gets back inside of her before she decides to fall asleep.

"Yeah…maybe I'm just tired" he says trying to convince himself. He answers Rachel's kiss with more force and rolls her back to the bottom.

_Oh God, yeah…he's heavy_, she thinks to herself as he is lying on top of her. She makes a weird face as he buries his face into her neck and thrusts back inside her. _Yeah, a little hard to breath down here_, she talks to herself as Finn is oblivious to her facial expressions.

As Finn continues to penetrate Rachel, she can tell he's more out of breath, and is definitely sweating a lot more. She's not used to him being so out of shape, but then she starts to think how much better this is for her. _Well, I won't have to worry about him cheating on me… he can barely finish with me. And maybe the girls won't find him so irresistible when he's packing some weight and sweating like a pig. I used to think how hot he was when he sweats, but now it's more like watching someone from the biggest loser sweat. Awww poor Finn, I shouldn't think about all this right now. I hope he's done fast, I need to go to bed though._

_Then, just last Saturday…_

"Finn! Can you not wrestle with Zachary…he's going to learn to tackle the other children at daycare if that's what you're teaching him" Rachel yells out from the kitchen drinking her coffee and watching her 2 boys play in the family room.

"Rach...he's fine. When I drop him off, they always say how good he is. Besides, I never grew up with a father, and I always wanted my dad to wrestle with me as a kid" he said continuing to tackle Zack and tickle him.

_Oh brother, is he gonna bring up the 'I didn't grow up with a Father" thing EVERY time I disapprove of something that he's doing?_ She thinks to herself as she shakes her head and takes a sip of her coffee.

Finn recognizes Rachel's disposition and slowly crawls over to the kitchen. Rachel can see him in her peripheral vision, but ignores his childish act and goes back to reading the newspaper. Finn looks back towards Zachary as he is laughing and watching his dad crawl over to his mom. He gets under the kitchen table and grabs on to Rachel's leg.

"Finn" she says calmly, and looks under the table. "What the hell are you doing?" she yells out.

Finn doesn't say anything and grabs on to Rachel's shin, and starts to pull her off her chair.

"Ah!" she yells out as she sets her coffee down and takes her right hand and tries to stop Finn from taking her down.

Finn keeps pulling her down, and she tries to resist by grabbing on to the chair, but the chair falls back and she falls to the floor.

"I'm gonna kill you!" she yells out to him and hits his shoulder.

"Did you hear that Zack?" Finn yells out to their son, "Mommy is threatening me. I will totally win in court" he jokingly says.

"Very funny!" she says as she forcefully pushes against him while he attempts to pull her towards him.

"So wrestling is bad, but verbal abuse is ok?" he asks while he pulls her towards him on the floor.

"Oh, I may be small, but I can still kick your ass" she says as he grabs on to her elastic waist of her pajama pants, and she tries to lightly kick him.

"Man, you are such a hypocrite" he says as he pins her down on the floor. Zachary starts to walk over towards them and tries to grab his mom's arm to help her up. Both Rachel and Finn start laughing at his gesture to help out his mommy in distress.

"See?" Rachel looks over to Finn laughing. "He knows where his true loyalties lie" she says giving Zack a kiss on the cheek.

"Zack?" Finn says to his son, "Daddy is just joking with mommy" he says smiling at him.

"Don't believe him Zack…that's what all men say" she says looking back at Finn.

Finn looks at Rachel and moves down for a kiss, but as soon as she recognizes it, she slithers away from under him and gets up. She darts towards the family room. That's Rachel's signature move. Finn always tries to start a wrestling match, and she tries to run away, but he always catches up to her and gets that kiss. But, this time…Finn abruptly gets up to chase her, but as soon as he did that, he pulled a muscle in his back.

"Ow!" he yells out as he starts to hunch over.

Rachel looks back and sees that Finn is in pain. Zachary got distracted with some of his toys and doesn't see his dad in distress.

"That's what you get for causing problems" Rachel barks back as she walks towards Finn to make sure he's ok. She thinks he might be kidding around, so she's still on the defense with him.

"No, I think I really hurt my back" he says still hunched over.

"Ok, well come here let's sit down" Rachel says as she guides him towards the couch.

_Oh man, he really did hurt his back_, Rachel thinks to herself. She brings him to the couch as he collapses and yells out a sign of pain.

"Fuck" he says under his breath.

"Finn, what can I do for you? Should I call a doctor?" she asks sitting next to him on the couch,.

"No!" he abruptly says. "I just pulled a muscle, I just need a few minutes" he said lying there.

"Ok, well I'll get you a few Advil and a heating pad" she said getting up to walk to their bathroom.

"Thanks" he says sadly. Finn is mad at himself for hurting his back. He has noticed lately that he has been in more pain lately, because he's been carrying a few extra pounds in his belly. He's also not exercising, and he wonders if his new lifestyle is the cause.

"Ok, take your shirt off. I got some muscle relaxer cream and a heating pad to put on your back" Rachel says as she sits next to him on the couch.

As soon as Finn takes his shirt off, Rachel recognizes his flabby stomach. She hasn't noticed because they haven't seen each other that much, and she thought it might have just been the tighter underwear at first, but she can see he's fatter. The only time they talk is over the phone, or when Finn wakes up Rachel when he falls into bed every morning when he gets home from the bar, and gives her a short kiss on the cheek to let her know he's home.

"What?' Finn says to her as he caught her staring at his stomach.

"What? Nuh-nuh-nothing" she says snapping out of it. Rachel really doesn't care what size he is, but she's never seen him this heavy before.

_I wonder if I married one of those great looking guys in high school and college, and then they lose their looks as they approach their 30's?, _she asks herself. Rachel really doesn't care, but she was just curious of what her future will bring. She just wants to start to storyboard the outcome.

Finn rolls over to his stomach so Rachel can rub the cream on his back. She starts to massage his back.

"Ahhhh thanks babe" he says closing his eyes.

"How do you think you threw your back out?" she asks him, hoping he'll acknowledge the fact that he might have not been taking care of himself lately. She notices he drinks too much at the bar, and he eats nothing but meat and cheese at home.

"Not sure Rachel. I think I just moved in a funny way" he said convincing himself that it's nothing.

Rachel grabbed a towel and wiped her hands off. She hunched over and kissed the back of his head as Finn just laid there for a few minutes in pain.

"Ok, well you lay here for awhile, and then maybe do some stretches before you go to work" she said walking away to play with Zack.

_Back to today…_

When All My Children was over, Finn turned the TV off and rolled over on the couch to take a nap. It's his usual routine. He gets up around 7 with Zack, they both eat breakfast. They play…Finn does some laundry, he feeds Zack lunch, then he puts him to bed right before All My Children comes on. Then, Finn takes a nap after eating a huge lunch, then he wakes up and takes Zack to daycare, while he goes into work at the bar. And it repeats.

When Finn wakes up, he gets ready while Zack runs around their bedroom as he shaves and changes. He always gives Zack his deodorant to hold and run around with, and sometimes he puts shaving cream on Zack's nose, and he always laughs really hard when Finn does that. Zack usually sits and watches Finn shave in the bathroom, and when Finn is done, he usually puts some of his after shave on Zack. When Rachel picks Zack up every evening, she recognizes the smell of Finn, and it always makes her smile.

When they arrive at the daycare…

"Hi Finn" the daycare worker says.

"Hi Kelly" Finn says smiling and putting Zack down as he starts to run and play with the other kids.

It wasn't that easy the first time Finn had to drop Zack off. He screamed his head off and grabbed onto Finn's leg for life.

_Back to that first day Finn dropped off Zack at the daycare…_

"Come on Zack, look at all the toys" Finn says rubbing the top of his head as he's clinged on to his leg.

"That's ok Mr. Berry, we can take it from here. It happens to almost all the kids the first time they're dropped off" she said smiling at him.

_Here we go again with the Mr. Berry thing again_, he thinks to himself as he rolls his eyes.

"It's really ok Mr. Berry" Kelly says, recognizing he rolled his eyes.

"No, uhhh sorry, I was rolling my eyes at something else. Anyway, you can call me Finn." He said picking up Zack. He wasn't even going to bother to tell her that his last name is Hudson, and technically so is Rachel's.

"Well, Finn…you can hand me your son, and I promise you he will stop crying within a few minutes" she said putting her hands out.

"Ok…that's cool. Thanks" Finn said as he handed Zack to Kelly and he started to scream Bloody murder.

Finn left, and within a few minutes, Zack still didn't calm down. Kelly started to bounce him up and down and calm him down while singing happy songs. As she kept singing and bouncing, Zack stretches his body out screaming and shaking. Then…the worst thing possible happened. He threw up all over Kelly.

"Ohhhh gross" Kelly said as she had chocolate and hotdog puke all over her.

Finn had been given specific instructions from Rachel not to feed him junk food, including hot dogs and candy. Those things were considered "treats", however Finn didn't care because he's "stuck" with Zack all day, and it's easy to make. He also gives Zack candy because he cries for it, since Finn introduced him to it, which really pisses off Rachel.

Kelly tried calling Finn's cell phone, but there was no answer. It kept going to voicemail because he was on the subway, and there was no signal. She finally had to contact Rachel from upstairs to tell her what happened. Rachel had answered her phone, and thought maybe he had the flu. She was mad because it was her first day on the job, and she already had to cancel her work day.

When she got to the nursery, she was surprised to see that the puke was chocolate.

"What the?" she said as she met Kelly in the bathroom as she started to clean herself and Zack off.

"Hi Ms. Berry, sorry I tried calling Mr. Berry but his phone kept going to voicemail" she said wiping down her clothes with a cloth.

"No it's ok…I'll take him home. I'm so sorry this happened to you" she said grabbing Zack and getting him ready to take home. "I'll pay to get your clothes clean…just send me the dry cleaning bill" she said.

"I would, but Old Navy doesn't really require dry cleaning" she said laughing.

"Ok, well I'll buy you lunch" Rachel said smiling and walking out.

And a new "Pukey" was born.

Rachel was furious that Finn had fed him chocolate, and no wonder he threw up all over. When Zack gets nervous or starts to cry, he can make himself throw up from getting over excited.

"I'm going to kill Finn" she said out loud walking out the door with Zack.

"Kill" Zack said repeating what she said.

"No no no" Rachel said nervously laughing, pretending he didn't just repeat that.

…_back to today_

After Finn left daycare, he got to the bar and saw Nick there talking to Stephanie.

"What UP Fud?" Nick said putting his hand out for a high five.

"Pukey" Finn said walking right passed him walking behind the bar without barely looking at him.

"Hey Fud" Stephanie said as he started to put his apron on.

"Hey Steph" Finn said grabbing some glasses to clean them.

"What's wrong babe?" she asked him watching him put glasses away.

"Nothing, just another long day" he said. "Also, I'm just dragging a lot lately" he said sighing.

"Probably because you got fat" Nick said looking him up and down near the stomach region, and taking a sip of his beer.

"NICK?" Stephanie said shooting Nick a look.

"No…NO…it's ok. He's right" Finn said looking at the both of them. "Usually I would bite back at Nick and say something like he's just mad because I'm married to Rachel, the hottest girl in New York City, and he gets to just look at her and whack off to her, but he can never have her….but NO, I won't say that" Finn said continuing to work.

"Well, you might be whacking off to her soon too if you keep gaining the weight. Lots of hot guys on All My Children" Nick said taking a sip of his beer.

"You would know Nicoletta" Finn said.

He always calls him Nicoletta when he's super pissed at him, and he starts to act gay. Sometimes Finn is almost certain Nick is gay, and other times, he thinks he's a genius at getting girls because of his super gayness sometimes.

"Ok guys, break it up now before I LITERALLY have to break it up! I don't want a repeat of a few weeks back when you were arguing over the finale of Dancing with the Stars" Stephanie said.

"It was a bullshit freestyle dance!" Finn snapped back.

"Aaaaand this is why you BOTH need a day job. You're both turning into chicks" Stephanie said tapping them both on the backs.

"First of all…Dancing with the Stars is on at night, and you are the one who plays it at the bar on Monday nights" Nick tries to argue their point of watching it.

"Yeah", Finn says nodding in agreement.

"You guys are sometimes more alike than you think" she says.

Since Nick has been unemployed, he's been hanging out at the bar a lot. Finn sees him about 4 nights a week, probably more than Rachel even talks to him. He's not sure if him and Stephanie are dating, but occasionally he catches them being real touchy feely.

"Anyway, Finn…if you want some pointer tips on how to get into shape…I can help you out" Nick says lifting his shirt up and showing his chest.

"No thanks…I think I can take care of myself. I don't want to catch your douche-ness" Finn said grabbing Nick another beer as he signaled for another one.

"Maybe that's a good idea Finn" Stephanie said walking over to Finn. "You guys can bond in a better way, and I bet you Rachel would be happy you two would be getting along" she said smiling and trying to encourage him to do it.

"But, I have no time. I drop off Zack right before I come here" he said.

"The daycare is all day, why don't you drop him off 90 minutes before you usually do. We only need an hour or so a day to get you into shape. Of course, you'll have to stop eating all the food here at midnight like you usually do" Nick said rolling his eyes.

"What are you? A cop? How do you know what I eat and when?" Finn said shooting him a look.

"Relax bro, I can see the marinara sauce all over your shirt every time I'm here" he said starting to laugh.

"Fuck you" he said walking away.

"Finn" Stephanie said meeting him near the kitchen. "You're mad because you are stuck at home, and let's be honest…you have gained some weight…why don't you take him up on your offer. The guy DOES know fitness…trust me, I've seen him naked" Stephanie said winking at him and walking away.

"Wait….WAIT, are you telling me you..and Nick….?" Finn wants her to elaborate on her last comment as she walked away from him.

Finn just nods his head at what Stephanie had just said.

_Ok, well…I suppose it can't hurt. I can work out with Nick, which means for 90 minutes, that means I know he won't be talking with Rachel. Plus, I can spy on him a little better and get more info about his life since we'll be hanging out for an hour and a half together. I can get the 411 on Stephanie and really try to push that relationship so he and Rachel don't always have to talk so much throughout the week. Maybe I should have thought about this a long time ago? _

"Alright Pukey, I'll drop Zack off early tomorrow and I'll meet you at the gym" Finn said walking over to Nick.

"You'll probably be the one puking tomorrow after I'm done with training you" Nick said laughing. "Better enjoy that last batch of cheese sticks tonight" he said smiling.

"Very funny" Finn said. _Shit, I better put two batches in…I'm really going to miss those cheese sticks,_ he thought to himself.

"Alright Finneh" Nick said getting up from his chair. "See you tomorrow at 2:30pm sharp!" he said slamming his beer down and walking towards Stephanie to say goodbye.

"Back in shape tomorrow" Finn said sighing thinking about him and Nick at the gym tomorrow. "What am I getting myself into?" he asked himself.

**END OF CHAPTER 6**


	7. Why Did You Throw the Pillow?

_**Thank you for the reviews…as ALWAYS! You guys are great…and it's nice to know that people love this story (or are just READING it lol)…By the way, did anyone notice that in the sectionals episode, Kathy Griffin's character was a nun who was an ex-hooker or whatever? I just want to go on record that I wrote Rachel's character being an ex-nun before that episode aired. It was so Random! **_

When Finn got home that night, he was exhausted and full from eating 3 batches of cheese sticks. He started to binge when he realized he'll be starting his new diet and exercise plan tomorrow. He dropped his keys on the kitchen table and went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He walked over to the couch and plopped himself down and turned on the TV.

_Yes, not too late for the good stuff on Cinemax, _he thought as he started to unbutton his shirt and loosen his belt. "Ahhhhhh, I'm gonna miss my beer every night_",_ he said out loud as he took a sip.

"Why are you going to miss your beer?" Rachel said, startling Finn.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing up?" he said as he watched her walk out from the hallway and towards the couch.

"Zack was just crying a few minutes before you got home. He doesn't sleep as well at night since he has started teething" Rachel said as she looked at the TV and saw what Finn was watching.

"Uhhh I just turned….the TV….on, and I'm not sure….what this is" he said slowly and calmly as he started to look around.

"I see" she said, slightly smiling. "So why are you going to miss your beer?' she stood over him asking.

"I have been over indulging the last few months I think…time to get back in shape" he said nodding his head. "I'm going to give up beer until Thanksgiving. That gives me 3 months" he said.

Rachel didn't say anything. She walked over to Finn and grabbed his beer from his hand and sat right on top of his lap.

"Ahhhhh" she said in satisfaction as she took a sip of his beer.

"What did you do that for?" he let out a slight giggle.

"I wanted to taste what you were going to miss" she said kissing his cheek. "I think if you can give up sex for 3 months, then you can give up beer" she said kissing him again on the lips softly.

"I think beer might be harder" he said after their lingered kiss.

"Do you want to place a bet?" she said nudging his chest.

"Ha ha ha….NO" he said putting his hand on her hip, and taking his other hand and stroking her hair. "It was easier giving up sex because it takes TWO people to do it, and well it was YOU who stopped me from having sex, I had no choice", he said smiling and tilting his head. "With beer, I have no one holding me back but myself." he said laughing.

Rachel just nodded in agreement smiling, knowing she'll never truly live down that whole with holding sex thing from Finn a few years back. He basically whips it out anytime Rachel is mad at him.

"Do you think we can do that move?" Rachel said looking back at the television and seeing a couple having sex in a pool.

"Well, it looks like we would need to be in a pool, and we'd also need a raft and….what looks like a rope" he said looking over her shoulder observing the couple on television.

"I can find us something to tie you up with" she said kissing his neck and unbuttoning his shirt further.

"Uhhhhhh…ok, first off: have you seen MY WIFE?" he asked not believing what's gotten into Rachel. "And secondly…how come YOU'RE not the one tied up?" he asked as she continued to take his shirt off.

"You're WIFE…is completely turned on by you right now" she said kissing down his chest and unzipping his pants.

"What about me showering…you always tell me to shower when I get home because I smell" Finn replied.

"Maybe I like it a little dirty sometimes" she said continuing to kiss down his chest as she spreads his shirt open.

"Rach…not that I'm not a fan of this new horny wife that I just came home to" he said throwing his head back as she starts to get further down his stomach. "But…what do you want?" he asked suspiciously, sighing from the warm feeling of her lips on his skin.

"I don't want anything" she said looking up at him. "I just want to spend more time with you, and I figured if I compromise staying up late a few times to greet you, maybe you can take a Saturday off so we can do stuff with Zachary, now that he's getting older" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Fair enough" he said nodding his head in agreement.

"Really?" Rachel asked surprised. "You mean...we're not going to argue over this…Like we do with everything?" she said almost scared to ask.

"No" he said laughing. "Look, I took this job to show my family that I will do anything and everything to make sure that there's food on the table and a roof over our heads." He said sighing. "Perhaaaaaaaps, I went slightly overboard and was too…I don't know, what's the word?" he said trying to think.

"Jealous. Pig headed. Stubborn. Hardheaded" Rachel rambled them off before Finn jumped in.

"You're funny" he said cutting her off and shaking his head. "Let's just say I was…DETERMINED" he said putting his hands on her head and running it through her hair. "But I should have realized that you are also capable of working and making the money around here too" he said leaning in for a passionate kiss.

"You're cute" she said endearing, while she looked into his eyes and allowed that kiss.

"Why's that?" he asked her pulling away.

"Because you finally realized you should trust me more" she said kissing his forehead.

"Trust you MORE?" he playfully asked. "Girl…please" he said jokingly poking her sides.

"Let's go to bed" Rachel said laughing and grabbing his hands.

"No" he said with a smirk and glancing at the TV. "Let's play on the couch" he said pushing her back down on top of him.

"But it's REALLY late and I need to get up early, and you agreed to taking time off so there's no need to seduce you" she said getting up and walking towards their bedroom.

_Ohhh yeah?_ Finn thought to himself as he watched her walk away. He turned the TV off, and got up to follow her quietly and slowly. As she went to the bathroom, he went into their closet to get their handcuffs. They haven't used them in a long time, but he figured it would be a great time to introduce them back into their marriage.

"Hudson!" she said walking out of the bathroom, spotting the handcuffs in his hand.

"Trust me sweetie" he said smiling and walking over to her.

"Sweetie eh?" she asked suspiciously.

Before Rachel can run away, he grabbed her and threw her playfully on the bed. He tried to open the handcuffs as he held her down with the other hand.

"Finn!" she yelped out as he got on top of her and started to kiss her neck.

"Shhhh you're so sexy" he said smiling down at her.

"In my New York Knicks t-shirt you gave me?" she said mocking her sexiness as she looked down at her shirt.

"I can help you with that" he said half smiling and taking her shirt off. She allowed him to by lifting her arms up.

"You are crazy, did you know that?" she said to him laughing.

Finn didn't say a word. He just kept her hands up over her head, and handcuffed her to the headboard. Rachel just sighed, as she felt him close the handcuffs.

"If this is the ONLY way I can get you to have sex with me, then so be it!" he said before kissing her passionately. "You taste so good" he said to her breaking the kiss to stare in her eyes.

"You taste like cheese and beer" she said mocking.

"Thank you" he said, as he started to tickle her like crazy.

"Oh my God, please stop!" she yelled out and started to lightly kick him.

Finn lost his grip from the bed and fell over onto the floor, as she couldn't control her reflex from him tickling her.

"Ow" he said as he hit the floor and had trouble getting back up.

"Finn?" Rachel asked as she reached her head as far as she can, but she couldn't see him lying on the floor. "Are you ok? I can't see you" she said worried.

Finn has been out of shape, he has been easily throwing his back out lately, and he definitely just threw it out again.

"Yeah, I'm ok. It's my back again" he said lying on the floor facing the ceiling.

"Oh baby I'm sorry" Rachel said lying on the bed, not being able to move very far.

"Not your fault I'm fat and out of shape" he said sighing.

"You're not fat baby…maybe you just need to stretch before doing strenuous activities with me now" she said trying to joke around and make him feel better.

"Rach" he said almost monotone. "I don't think I can move" he said trying to shift his body up.

"What do you mean, is it that bad?" she asked, worried it's something serious, but more worried because she's handcuffed to the bed in her underwear.

"Ow" he screamed out as he tried to roll over, but was unsuccessful. "I think I really threw it out bad this time, I can't even move" he said sighing.

"Ok, well, I can't move either because you HANDCUFFED ME TO THE BED" she said as she started to freak out.

"Ok ok…stop yelling, you'll wake up Zack and then we'll have a crying baby on our hands" he said just lying there.

"Ok, sorry I'm just freaking out here because I'm stuck and you're stuck. Where are the keys to the handcuffs?" she asked him calmly.

"Uhhh…I threw them on the dresser" he said.

They both lift their heads up to look at the dresser which is on the other side of the room against the wall.

"Ok, well crawl over there and grab the keys" she said demanding him.

"Owwwww!" he yelled out as he tried to move again. "Baby, I don't think I can, I'm in so much pain. I can't even shift without a huge nerve going through my leg" he said in almost tears.

"Ok ok…I am really sorry you're in pain, but I'm lying in my bra and underwear handcuffed to the bed. We have to figure out what to do here. I obviously can't get up, unless I cut my hand off" she said shifting her hands to try and loosen up the cuffs.

"Well, you're not going to be able to jiggle yourself out. I put them on pretty tight" he said.

"YEAH, I can FEEL that" she said snarky. "Gahhhh" she said impatiently as she tried to miraculously get out of the handcuffs.

"Calm down please, getting worked up is not going to help any!" Finn shouted throwing up his one arm.

"I'd much rather be in your position…what are we going to do Finn? We have a child in the next room whose going to wake up in a few hours, and neither of us are going to be able to get him out of his crib!" she said as she continued to try and find a way out of her cuffs.

"I have no idea. Is your cell phone nearby?" he asked her trying to move his head up, but still in a lot of pain.

"Why?" she asked him nervously.

"Well, we have to call 911" he said.

"Nuh uh, no way" she said interrupting him.

"Rach…I can't get to the dresser to uncuff you, and you can't get out unless you have a key. Besides, I may need to go to the hospital anyway, I seriously can't move" he said in agony just talking.

"You just need a Tylenol Hudson, chalk it up. Please just work through the pain, like I DID when I was in labor for an entire day. Now, crawl over to the dresser and get those keys!" she said kicking a pillow off the bed and unto him.

"Even if I crawled over there HONEY, I wouldn't be able to reach up that high to get them" he said grabbing onto the pillow.

"You can use the pillow" she said to him.

"Ohhhh" he said looking at it and holding it up over his face.

Before she knew it, Finn had thrown the pillow towards the dresser to try and knock the keys off. Instead of the keys, he had hit the lamp, which had now fallen and cracked on their wood floor.

"I meant to crawl over there first" Rachel said calmly, because she was in shock at what had just happened.

"Oh" he said shamefully.

And before Rachel can try and reach another pillow with her foot, Zachary had woken up from the noise and started to cry.

"Ohhhh no" Rachel said.

"Guess I should have bought that Oriental rug like you told me too huh?" he said alluding to the fact that the lamp made too much noise because of their wood floors.

"Might have saved the lamp, and the loud noise that resonated from the wood yes" she said shaking her head.

Rachel looked over to the night stand and spotted her phone. She knew she had to try and reach it, so she can call someone.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as he noticed her movement on the bed.

"I'm going to kick my phone where you can catch it and call someone. Just, please don't call 911" she said nervously thinking about how embarrassing this whole ordeal is going to be.

"Ok, but who am I going to call at this hour? The only person I can think of is Stephanie" Finn said.

"Fine" Rachel said sighing. "I suppose that's the most logical choice, and she does have a key" Rachel said.

Finn and Rachel had given her a key when she became their occasional babysitter. Also, they wanted someone they know to have a key in case of emergencies, and they suppose this was an emergency. Rachel was able to swing her foot over her phone, which landed on top of Finn's face.

"Ow" he said as it hit his nose.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked, not knowing where the phone landed because she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, it hit my nose" he said as he looked through her contacts for Stephanie's number.

"Better your nose than mine" Rachel said rolling back over on her back.

"Hey Steph, it's Finn" he said as she answered the phone. "Rachel and I sort of have an emergency, but NOTHING is wrong…we just need you to come over and bring your key. I threw my back out really bad and Zachary is crying" he said to her.

Stephanie had responded by asking where Rachel is.

"Ohhh, she's sort of tied up at the moment" Finn hesitantly said, not giving Stephanie much room to talk. "Please just come, I'll explain when you get here, but please hurry" he said.

Stephanie had told Finn she was on her way, and he sighed in relief. She tried to get more info, but he didn't know what else to tell her, so she just knew to come over and help out.

"Ok, she'll be here in 10-15, so we just need to hang low here" he said to Rachel.

"Ohhh God, this is going to be so embarrassing" Rachel said, thinking about Stephanie coming in their room to help unlock her from handcuffs in her underwear.

"Could be worse, I mean, we could have been into some really crazy kinky shit, but I would say this is pretty normal" he said to her trying to relax her mind.

"Easy for the one NOT in their underwear, tied up to the bed post to say" she responded bitterly.

"Yeah, but I'm going to guess she knows I was the one to do it" he said almost laughing.

Rachel just shook her head, knowing that this was the best alternative. She knew if the ambulance was to come, it would be super embarrassing, and it would be one of those stories that people will be gossiping all over the hospital and police station. She also knew there would have been a chance for the press to hear about it, since she's somewhat well known in New York City. She'd rather just be embarrassed in front of Stephanie, and hopefully she won't tell anyone else_. I hope she doesn't tell Nick,_ Rachel thought to herself.

"Finn? Rachel?" Stephanie called out as she walked in their condo. She can hear Zachary crying, and figured she should attend to him first.

"Where are you going?" Nick blurted out to Stephanie.

Nick was spending the night at Stephanie's place, because they have had somewhat of a thing lately, but neither of them had shared that with anyone else. They both have been keeping it under wraps. When Finn had called, Nick was over at Stephanie's place, so he came with her. Finn didn't explain over the phone why they needed her help exactly, but she knew he threw his back out, and that Nick could help him out while she attended to Zack. Neither of them could figure out where Rachel was, but they figured she might have gotten tied up at work on a late shoot or something.

"I'm going to get Zachary. I bet Finn is in the bedroom, go help him out" Stephanie said to him as she walked towards Zack's bedroom.

Nick had nodded his head and started to walk towards Finn and Rachel's bedroom. He cracked the door open and couldn't believe what he had saw.

"Nick!" Rachel had shouted out, as her face started to turn red.

"Rachel?" Nick had started to laugh, almost in shock at what he saw. "Wha…wha….where's Finn?" he asked staring at Rachel on the bed.

"I'm over here" Finn said lying on the floor on the opposite end of the bed.

Nick had walked around the bed and saw Finn just lying there in pain on the floor. Finn looked at Nick, knowing that he looked completely stupid, and hated the fact that he looked defeated as well.

"What the hell happened here?" Nick asked as he turned and saw the broken lamp on the floor, and the pillow on top of the dresser.

"It's a long story" Rachel responded as she tried and cover up her body, but really was unsuccessful.

Nick looked back at Rachel, then back at Finn. He can see Finn was in a lot of pain, so he bent down to try and help him out first.

"Where does it hurt?" Nick had asked Finn.

"Sort of all over, but mostly my lower back and down my right leg" he said in pain.

"Ok, I'm going to turn you over and see if I can release some pressure for you, so you can at least sit up" Nick said as he quickly turned Finn over in one quick motion so he can work on his back.

"Oh!" Finn said in shock, but was surprised it didn't hurt the way Nick had turned him over.

"Ummmm hey GUYS" Rachel yelled out, as she can hear Nick massaging Finn's back. "Can you sort of unlock me here before you two get comfortable?" Rachel asked in anger.

"Ohh of course, where are the keys?" Nick had asked getting up.

"On the dresser where the lamp used to be" Rachel said.

"I'm going to give you guys the benefit of the doubt and guess there wasn't a fight, but the broken lamp and pillow might have been some way to get the keys off the dresser?" he asked as he started to laugh.

"You cracked that case quickly, Sherlock" Rachel sarcastically said.

Nick had grabbed the keys and walked back to Rachel. He bent his knee down on the bed and knelt over her so he can unlock her. Rachel had never felt so embarrassed in her life.

"Ohhhh wow, what happened?" Stephanie had asked, as she walked in the room holding Zack in her arms. She quickly covered his eyes, when she noticed Rachel half naked handcuffed to the bed, as Nick tried to release her.

"Ohh I'll tell you all about this later" Nick said to her laughing and finally unlocking Rachel.

"Thank you" Rachel said as she quickly got out of bed. "Now, if you'll all excuse me for a minute" Rachel said walking away to go grab some clothes.

"Where's Finn?" Stephanie asked, wanting to laugh, but desperately trying to keep it together.

"Hi Stephanie" Finn said as he was still on the floor, but this time on his stomach.

Stephanie walked over with Zack to the other side of the bed and saw Finn lying on the floor.

"Dada" Zachary said pointing to his dad.

"Awwww" Nick and Stephanie both said in unison at how cute Zachary was being.

"Ok, I can take him from you now Stephanie, thank you for coming over tonight. You saved our lives" she said grabbing Zachary from her. "Come on Zack, let's go back to bed" she said leaving the room to try and put him back to bed.

"No problem, good night Zack" she said smiling and waving to him.

Nick knelt down on the floor next to Finn to try and work on his back. He started to deeply massage it and try and relieve some pressure.

"So do I want to know how you hurt it?" he asked Finn as he took his elbow and tried to hit his pressure point.

"I would tell you to fuck off, but I really need you right now" Finn said as nicely as he can.

"Yeah, well I hope you didn't do all this just so you can cut out on our work out tomorrow" Nick said laughing.

"No worries Pukey. I'll be at that gym, if not tomorrow, but as soon as I can move" Finn said, releasing a sigh of relief. He would never admit it, but whatever Nick was doing, was helping his back out.

After a few minutes, Nick was able to relieve a lot of pressure and Finn was able to get up and lye on the bed.

"Do you want me to help you with your clothes?" Nick asked.

"No!" Finn responded quickly. "I am fine, thank you" he said as nicely as he can.

"Ok, well Stephanie is getting you some aspirin. I'll call you tomorrow to see how you're doing. You may have to go to a chiropractor if it doesn't start to feel better" he said as he walked out of their bedroom.

"Thanks" Finn said too softly, where Nick couldn't really hear.

Stephanie got back into the bedroom to bring Finn some aspirin. Rachel had just walked out of Zachary's room, where she finally got him back to sleep and spotted Nick in the hallway.

"So" Nick said to Rachel, not really knowing what to say.

"So" Rachel said putting her head down, wanting to smile.

"I'll have to use a lot of soap to help clean my eyes from what I saw tonight" he said jokingly as he poked her side.

"You're funny" she said quietly not wanting to wake up Zack. "Please, PLEASE, don't tell anyone about this" she said as they both started to walk towards the front door.

"Your secret is safe with me" he said holding out his pinky to do a pinky swear. "Well, at least until I'll probably blurt it out the next time I have a party" he said as they started to shake on it.

"I WILL throw up on you again, if I have to" she said looking at him with an evil grin.

"No, this story is too good to keep to myself" he said patting her back as Stephanie walked towards them.

"Ok, well I brought your husband some aspirin, and cleaned up the pieces of broken lamp on your floor" Stephanie said as she walked over to Rachel.

"I owe you" she said giving Steph a small hug. "If you ever find yourself handcuffed to your bed with your future husband lying on the floor with his back thrown out, and your future baby crying…you know who to call" Rachel said trying to lighten the embarrassment with a joke.

"Ohhh fo sho" she said as she slapped Rachel's butt.

Rachel closed the door as they both walked out. She can hear them starting to burst out laughing as she started to walk away. Rachel just shook her head, knowing there's nothing she can do about it. _When you're married to Finn Hudson, this is just another day,_ she thought to herself as she yawned.

Rachel sighed as she got to their bed, and lifted the covers to finally lay her head down to rest. She rolled over to the other side, thinking Finn was asleep.

"Are you mad at me?" Finn asked as he put his hand around her waist.

"Of course not" she said squirming closer to his body. "It's not your fault you threw your back out. It's what you get for handcuffing me to the bed" she said jokingly.

"So, the lesson is you should have sex with your husband when he asks" Finn gave a jovial response.

"Well, I'll give you this…if I would have played with you on the couch like you asked, this would have NEVER happened" she said trying to reason with him.

"So you're ok?" he asked, noticing her being a good sport.

"No, I'm MORTIFIED, but if anyone is going to catch us in this compromising position, I'm glad it was our friends and not a whole bunch of police and EMT's" she said sighing.

"Yeah, I am glad Nick saw that we know how to have some fun in bed" he said.

"Yeah…that Nick part, I wasn't too thrilled about" she said sighing. "But, he really didn't see us having fun, he mostly saw you lying on the floor in pain, and me half naked and angry" she said, not sure if she should laugh or cry.

"Yeah, it was like Christmas for him" Finn said holding on to her tighter.

"Maybe, but with the exception of him wanting to see YOU in pain, I think he's into Stephanie lately" she said.

"Yeah, he's been at the bar a lot, and I catch them both disappearing for 20 minutes or so at a time. I have a feeling there is something going on, but neither of them will admit to it" Finn replied.

"Ohh you didn't mention he comes to the bar" she said shifting her head to look at him.

"Ohhh it's a blast" he said sarcastically. "But honestly….the guy just has a perfect life. He wakes up when he wants to, works out all day, and then hangs out at the bar all night" he said.

"Sounds lonely to me" she said quietly.

"Yeah…it IS lonely" he said realizing what he's got.

Finn moved Rachel's hair from the back of her neck and kissed it gently. She closed her eyes and soaked Finn in, as she thought about how lucky she is.

"I love you Finn" she said not moving.

"And I love me too" he said joking.

"You're funny. Who do you think you are? Rachel Berry?" she said elbowing him.

"I don't know who that is" he said kissing her again on the neck. "I know of a Rachel Hudson who is the most lovely woman I have ever met" he said snuggling his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder.

"Yeah….she's great too" she said sighing as she started to fall asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 7


	8. I'm Leaving You For the Hot Fireman

**_Thanks again for all the reviews! I really do appreciate it, and as always...I take them all into account. If you have been following the first story, and this one of course, then you know I'm not really a "fluff" writer. I like to have fun with the characters...and in this story, they're already in love; but what is it like when you show 2 very different types of people married. This is my take on what the nerd and cool guy in high school would be like. I really didn't like how Ryan Murphy, et al showed "finnchel" as a couple. THIS is how I would have written them! However, I will do my best to balance out the "fighting" and the "fluff"...so thanks for reading! I really hope you like this chapter..._**

_8 weeks later…_

"Dude, hand me that dumbbell when you're done with it" Finn said to Nick in the weight room of the gym.

"One more set and it's yours" Nick said as he worked on his biceps. "Do you want to hit the pool afterwards?" he asked.

"No, today is my day off, so I have to get back and pick up Zack. If Rachel knew I dropped him off at the "All Their Children" daycare on my days off, she would kill me" he said stretching.

"Don't they have a Kid's Club or something at the gym? It's to the right of the front desk area or something" he said pointing over to where it is.

"Ohhh…that would help save on transportation and time" he said doing squats. "Rachel never mentioned to me that they had one of those" he said as he started to do squats.

"Maybe she wasn't really going to the gym" he said raising an eyebrow and insinuating something else.

"Dude, first off…thanks for that. And secondly...didn't she mostly go to the gym with YOU?" he asked him not finding his insinuation that she was doing OTHER things funny.

"Sorry man, relax" he said throwing his hand up and laughing. "It was a joke. Last time I walked in on you guys in a compromising situation, and hopefully it's the LAST time…" he said shuttering. "It seemed like you guys were having no trouble in the sex department" he said reaching down to grab another dumbbell.

"No, I know. I go through these weird stages with Rachel" he said putting his hands on his waist. "I mean, everything's fine, but there are these times when she gets really focused on her career. She gets so focused that everything and everyone around her gets put on a schedule." he said slowly. "Aaaand, sex has not been on our schedule" he said looking down.

Finn starts to think back how crazy the last 8 weeks have been. And the crazy schedule that Rachel puts herself on.

_6 weeks ago…_

"Finn!" Rachel yells out as he opened the shower door and got in behind her.

"What?" Shhhh I just put Zack down for bed" he said grabbing her from behind and kissing her neck.

"Finn, I'm sorry, but I only have 6 minutes to finish up in the shower. I have to do a load of laundry, make my lunch for tomorrow, iron my clothes, and then get to bed before 10" she said lathering her hair as she put the shampoo in it.

"Come on Rach…I'll do the laundry and make your lunch for you. Just relax and go with the moment here" he said holding on to her.

"Thank you, that's sweet of you" she said kissing his cheek. "But I like to do everything myself. I need certain clothes for the week, and it's easier if I just do it myself" she said rinsing her hair off as Finn releases his grip.

"Ok, but maybe you can just stay up TEN more extra minutes, and I promise you I will help you release some of your stress" he said winking.

"I'm not stressed baby, I'm just tired. They've been giving me more lines at work lately, and I just have to be on my game. It's hard during the week for me to stay up late. When I was on Broadway, it was easier because it was the same script, and I had more time in the morning and day. This job, I have to be up early and always on top of my game, because the script can change in a second" she said beginning to shave her legs.

Finn just stood back and watched her groom herself in the shower, as she didn't pay attention to him at all. It was 2 weeks of him working out, and he had already dropped a few pounds and started to feel good about himself. At that moment, he decided he'd have to stay busy on his own accord, and just focus on getting into great shape.

_And then just 2 weeks ago…_

"Ok, well that took forever to put Zachary to sleep tonight" Rachel said sighing as she entered their bedroom.

While Rachel was busy putting Zack to bed, Finn was busy showering and grooming himself to see if he can grab Rachel's attention. He put gel in his hair and put his glasses on, while he sat on the bed in his boxers reading a magazine. Rachel had mentioned a few times to him that she found it sexy when he wore his glasses.

Rachel had walked straight to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and within a few minutes, she came out only to yawn and shut off all the lights.

"Hey, I was reading this magazine" Finn reacted to her turning all the lights off.

"Sorry, I'm not used to you reading before bed. I just figured you were looking at all the hot models" she said getting under the covers.

Usually Rachel is right, and to be honest, that's exactly what Finn was doing.

_Damn you for knowing me all too well,_ Finn thought to himself as he watched her snuggle under the covers.

"Good night baby" Rachel said as she leaned up to give Finn a kiss.

"Wait wait wait" he said grabbing her closely and kissing her passionately.

"What?" she asked giggling as she broke the kiss.

"What are you laughing for?" he asked her playfully.

"Well, I can smell your cologne" she said coughing. "And you never wear your glasses, because you never read" she said starting to smile. "Sooo…if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are trying to seduce me" she said.

"How do you know me so well?" he asked her shaking his head and smiling.

"I know you, just as much as you know me" she said kissing him. "But, can I take a rain check for the weekend? I'm just too exhausted during the week" she said sighing.

"I usually work weekends, and you are well out of it by the time I get home. I tried waking you up last weekend to have sex, and you punched me on my side" he said kissing her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but if you startle me, I get defensive. I get real crabby when I'm over tired" she said burying her head into his chest, as she closed her eyes.

"Well…as long as you sleep with me like this, I'll wait for that rain check" he said putting his arm around her as she got comfortable, snuggling into him.

They both fell asleep.

_Back to present time…_

Nick wasn't sure if he should let him continue because he's really Rachel's friend, and she was always very private about this stuff. However, he knows it's different when there's 2 guys talking, but he feels like he's betraying Rachel by getting the 411 on their sex life through the eyes of Finn. And Nick also knows he's not that very nice, and can tend to use this information against him at any point.

"Sooo…how long has it been then?" Nick felt obliged to ask because it seemed like Finn wanted to talk about it.

"Let's just say that the last time you were in our bedroom…it was the most excitement we've had" Finn said walking over to the exercise ball to do abs.

"Ohhhh" he said grinding his teeth. "Well….uhhh, maybe she should go to Stephanie's this Friday night" Nick said grabbing an exercise ball as well.

"Um, as much as I would pay ANYTHING to watch Stephanie and Rachel get it on …I'm not sure she is the solution to get Rachel more sexually active" Finn said as he continued to do sit-ups. "Of course, it might do wonders for ME" he said with a smirk, thinking about those 2 naked together.

"No, you freak" Nick said throwing a towel at Finn's face. "Stephanie is having one of those surprise parties on Friday night. One of her friend's sells that shit" Nick said shaking his head at Finn's comment about Stephanie and Rachel.

"Surprise party for who?" Finn asked confused on what he's talking about.

"It's one of those sex toy parties that women have these days" he said leaning into Finn, as he said it quietly.

"Women have those?" Finn asked with a shock on his face.

"Yeah, where the hell have you been? The shit they sell at these parties will make your little handcuff game look like foreplay" he said going back to doing sit ups on the ball. "I was browsing through the catalog last night that Steph brought home, it's pretty hilarious" he said laughing.

Nick doesn't live with Stephanie, but he's definitely over a lot. They both haven't officially announced they are dating, but it's obvious to everyone else around them. Nick is the type of guy that enjoys this type of relationship, and Stephanie is too focused on working to need Nick be her main focus in life. As of right now, the both of them are just having fun…and they both prefer it that way.

"Hilarious is not the word I'm looking for" he said sighing. "I wonder if Rachel would be up for something like that" he said.

"She probably was invited. Stephanie said she invited all of her girlfriends…and that I was to stay away that night" he said rolling his eyes. "What I would do to be a fly on the wall at THAT party, with all those chicks getting sexually charged up?" he said thinking of the possibilities.

"Exactly why she told you to stay away dude" he said rolling his eyes.

"Well anyway, if Rachel goes, that might get her back in the mood….if you know what I mean" he said winking.

"Rachel didn't mention anything to me about me babysitting Friday night" he said getting off the ball to stretch. "I mean, I would EASILY take off of work to make sure she can go to that party" Finn said.

"Oh…well, if Stephanie isn't working, she probably needs you to work. So, you won't have a babysitter" he said. "Guess she can't go to that party, tough break dude" Nick said slapping his back and laughing.

Finn grabbed his arm before he can walk away.

"Ow dude" Nick said looking back at Finn.

"YOU are babysitting Friday night" he said demanding. "Rachel is going to that party if it's the last thing she goes to" he said almost desperate.

"Ok ok relax" he said trying to get Finn to loosen his grip. "Geez, I can see my work outs are totally benefiting you" he said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I may be getting into awesome shape, but if I'm not able to show off my new flexibility and stamina, I'm going to go crazy" he said referring to him needing to have sex.

"God, TMI dude, TMI" he said walking away. "I'm going to the pool, I'll catch you tomorrow, same place, same time" he said going through to the locker room.

When Rachel had gotten home that evening, Finn had already made dinner and cleaned up for both he and Zachary.

"Hi guys, mommy is home" Rachel said as she entered their condo throwing down her bag on the chair.

Right away, Zachary had walked over to Rachel with excitement, and she picked him up to give him tons of kisses.

"How's my little man?" she said to him hugging and kissing him.

"You're little man missed you like always, and was a very good boy. And you're big man, missed you like always" he said walking over to Rachel to give her a kiss.

"And was my big man a good boy as well?" she joked with Finn as she leaned in for a deeper kiss as she held onto Zachary.

Zack had taken his hand and tried to push Finn's face away from Rachel's. He hates it when they wrestle or kiss, because he wants his mom all to himself. If he's around the two of them when they touch, he always tries to push Finn away from Rachel.

"Hey hey" Finn started to laugh, expecting Zack's reaction to them kissing.

Rachel laughed as well, as she walked with Zack into the living room to play and spend some time with him. Finn knows her son is more important, and he's completely cool with that. _If only I can just have her to myself when he goes to bed,_ he thinks to himself.

Later that night, Rachel had walked into the living room to say good night to Finn after she put Zack down.

"Ok, well Zack is down for the night. I'm going to go check out myself" Rachel said as she walked towards the front door to make sure it was locked.

"It's only 8:30" Finn said flipping through the channels on the TV.

"I know, but I've been exhausted. Work is kicking my ass lately. I'm not used to soap operas. They are NON stop" she said walking towards the couch.

"Maybe you need to get out" Finn said, trying to bring up Stephanie's this Friday.

"Get OUT? I think I need a day to just relax and stay IN" she said sighing.

"No…I mean, you probably need like a ladies night out or something. Maybe this weekend" he said looking around, hoping she takes the bait.

"That's funny you said that, because Stephanie had invited me over for a Surpri….uhhh, Tupperware party at her house this Friday night. Did she mention it to you?" Rachel asked sitting down on the couch next to him. _If I tell Finn it's a sex party, he's going to drive me crazy all week about it,_ she thought to herself.

"Huh? No" he said shaking his head. _So the secret word these days is "Tupperware" huh?_ He thought to himself grinning. _That's kind of cute that you are embarrassed to admit you are going to a sex party._

"You should totally go" he said turning to look at her. "I mean, we're totally running out of things to put our leftovers in" he said shrugging.

"Yeah, but aren't you working? I don't have a babysitter" she said.

"Nick!" he abruptly said. "Uhhh I mean, I think Nick is free. I'll ask him tomorrow at the gym" he said looking around.

"You're acting goofy" she said looking at him funny. "Are you still jealous over Nick? Because if you ARE, you're the one who has been seeing him more than me. I don't even talk to the guy anymore" she said.

"Huh? Noooo, no not at all. I just am still bitter about the Chad thing sometimes, but you know…got to move on" he said smiling, not wanting her to catch on that he knows what the party is all about on Friday. "You're happiness and being able to go out with the girls is more important" he said putting his one hand on hers. "And we really NEED Tupperware" he said looking deep into her eyes.

Rachel is still looking at him suspiciously, but she's too tired to analyze his goofy behavior. She realizes Finn is strange enough as it is, and sometimes just takes him for face value.

"Ok, well…maybe I'll do that on Friday" she said sighing as she got up. "Good night" she said leaning down to kiss Finn.

"Good night" he said kissing her back, watching her walk to their bedroom.

_Operation, surprise party has commenced,_ he thought as he let out a huge grin.

_Friday afternoon…_

"Hi babe" Finn said answering his cell, knowing it was Rachel.

"Hi Finn" she said yawning. "I was going to tell you to let Nick know when you go to the gym with him that he doesn't have to babysit tonight. I'm going to stay home, I'm just too tired" she said.

"NO! Rachel please, just drink a redbull you'll be fine" he said frustrated.

"Finn, what's the big deal. I just don't feel like going out" she said shaking her head.

"But..but, we really REALLY need Tupperware" he said whining.

"Stephanie told you it's a sex party didn't she?" she said monotone.

"Well, actually Nick did, but I will NEVER bother you again about anything if you just go tonight and buy a lot of things" he said asking like a kid.

"Orrrr", she said seductively. "Why don't I go home and get a lot of sleep tonight, and TOMORROW night, we can play with those stripper cards you bought me for Hanukkah a few years back" she said trying to persuade him.

"Ummm, we went through all those that same year, and they're not anything like you're going to find tonight" he said sadly.

"Ok ok…" she said. "How about we make our own game up?" she asked him.

"Last time we did that, you wanted me to pretend to be the characters from Barbara Streisand movies" he said rolling his eyes. "It wasn't fun, because more than half the time, we had to pause so you can sing a solo in bed" he said sighing.

"I'll let you eat food off of me again?" she asked, stretching for ideas.

"NO, because this time, I'm on a diet" he said getting mad.

"FINE" she said after a long pause. "I"ll go tonight….for you" she said smiling over the phone.

"REALLY?" he asked.

"Yes, I realized I've neglected our sex life due to my exhaustion from work" she said quietly over the phone "But it's not fair to you…or US" she said.

"I love you" he said smiling. "I left you 200 dollars on the kitchen table for tonight. If you need more, please don't hesitate to use the credit card. Whatever you want to buy" he said excited.

"Ohhh brother" she said shaking her head and letting out a nervous giggle. "Alright, well I have to go back to work, so I'll just see you tonight…or tomorrow morning" she said hanging up the phone.

_Maybe I should just leave her another $100 just in case, he_ thought to himself.

When Rachel got home with Zachary, she immediately saw $300 on the kitchen table with a post-it note that said: "think of it as an investment".

Rachel just read the note and shook her head. "If anything, mommy needs a new pair of shoes" she said out loud, thinking she'll really not buy anything at this party tonight.

"Knock knock" Nick said as he used his key to get into their condo.

"Hey Nick" she said smiling and giving him a hug. "I didn't know you had a key" she said looking at him nudging him.

"I took Stephanie's. I didn't know if you'd be tied up again" he said shrugging. "You never know!" he said laughing grabbing her hand.

"Oy, I am NEVER going to live that down am I?" she said breaking away to go put Zachary's pajamas on.

"Nope" he said smiling walking over to the kitchen. "Hey, there's no beer" he said frowning.

"Didn't Finn tell you? He gave it up until Thanksgiving" she said getting up from the floor in the living room, after putting Zack's pajamas on.

"Nooooo, he's been keeping that a secret from me. No wonder his abs are almost looking better than mine" he said getting mad.

"Boy, you two have always had a competition, but this is almost turning gay now" she said mocking him.

"Oh no worries, I still don't like him" he said trying to sound convincing, but everyone can tell those two have been pretty close. Yet, neither of them, will ever admit it.

"Anyway, you must be proud of him. He'll never be as fit as me, but he's looking good for an ogre" he said not giving him too much credit.

"Yeah" she said. "I rarely see him, but from what I can tell, he's in much better shape and definitely doesn't complain about being out of breath anymore" she said walking to get her coat.

"Well, whatever you buy tonight might get him out of breath" he said winking at her.

"Ewwww Nick" she said to him almost turning red.

"Ha ha sorry, I know how you can get" he said walking over to her putting his hands on her shoulders. "I just like getting a reaction out of you sometimes" he said smiling.

"I miss you" she said smiling back. "We need to grab lunch soon. You should come by the studio this week" she said.

"I can't, I start rehearsals on Monday" he said walking away from her to go play with Zack.

"Re-re-rehearsals?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, for Million Dollar Quartet" he looked at her shaking his head like she should know.

"How come I didn't know about this? Why didn't you tell me, I wanted to try out for that" she said getting angry.

"I told Finn to tell you a few weeks back, and he said he had talked to you about it, and you said you weren't interested. He said you were happy with where you were at" he said looking at her confused. "I didn't talk to you about it because we barely talk, and your schedule is so different then mine. You go to sleep way too early" he said trying to justify him not calling her.

He can tell by the look on her face that she's disappointed.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I should have called you directly" he said walking back over to her.

"No, it's not your fault. Finn didn't tell me" she said with a blank stare. "However, it used to be where you WOULD call me directly" she said sighing and rolling her eyes.

Rachel didn't realize until now, but she's jealous of Finn and Nick's new friendship. She has Finn not telling her about the musical audition, and Nick is not calling her directly. It used to be where she would be the buffer between those two, now it seems like Nick is the buffer between Finn and Rachel.

"Look, I'm sure it's a mix up. I can still probably get you an audition, but the main female role is already cast" he said putting his hands on his hips. "I'll see what I can do".

"No…thanks" she said putting her head down. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be" she said trying to find a reason why this is happening. "I just can't understand why Finn didn't tell me" she said shaking her head.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said lifting his eyebrow.

"Ok, well…"Rachel just looked at Nick knowing what he's insinuating, but not wanting to talk about it. "Thanks for babysitting tonight" she said walking over to Zack to give him a kiss.

"Do I get a kiss?" Nick asked as he looked up at her and smiled.

Rachel just stared at him and shook her head.

"I put some money on the table for you so you can order a pizza…or get beer" she said opening the door. "Just don't get wasted with my son please" she said.

"That won't be 'till college!" he yelled out as she shut the door and left.

When Rachel got to the party, she was greeted with a kiss and a glass of champagne from Stephanie.

"Hey girl…looking fine" Stephanie said to Rachel. "Haven't seen you in awhile" she said.

"Yeah, thanks for the invite. I'm glad I can come" she said taking the glass from her hand and having a sip.

When the demonstration began, Rachel couldn't believe at some of the stuff on display. She's usually pretty conservative about her sex life, when it comes to talking about it with other people. Although Finn likes to beg to differ, because a few times she's gotten pretty drunk and has offered to go down on Finn in public places. He always claims that he's saved her from embarrassment a few times, but she says she never really has a recollection, so she's not sure if he's telling the truth or not.

"Oh my God" Rachel said out loud when they got to the vibrators.

"Ha ha Rachel, are you shocked because they're bigger than Finn or smaller?" Stephanie yelled out nudging her, as everyone else in the room started to laugh.

All the women were laughing the entire time, and making tons of jokes. This is the first time Rachel has ever talked about anything so racy with a bunch of girls, especially because she's an only child and has two dads. Even her current best friend is a male. She talked a few times to her college roommate about sex, but this is all out in the open. She does realize it's more jovial, so she's trying to laugh along and have a good time. She just keeps saying "oh my God" at everything the hostess keeps bringing out, and that's why all the women find her cute and keep laughing at her.

"I think I need another drink before she pulls out more" she said regarding the vibrators.

"That's what she said!" this lady yelled out, as everyone started to laugh.

"Hurry up Rachel, they're bringing out the duel action ones" another lady yelled out. "Judging by these, there will be NO need for a man" she said.

"Amen to that" someone else said as they all cheered and took a drink.

Rachel walks out from the kitchen and back into the living room shaking her head and smiling. She also couldn't believe the price of some of these vibrators. _Finn ain't gonna get much with his $300,_ she thought to herself. _I may have to get one of these_, she thought to herself as they passed this one vibrator around that was $150. _I've never had one, _she shrugged thinking about it.

"Ok ladies, and now for some games" the demonstrator said.

_Ohhhhhh, Finn loves his games_, Rachel thought as she shook her head laughing.

When the demonstrator brought out the karma sutra book, Rachel just shook her head again.

"What's the matter Rachel?" Steph asked her in front of everyone.

"We have that already" she said, as everyone started to laugh and cat call.

And when the demonstrator brought out the "Light Bondage" stuff, Stephanie laughed and gave Rachel a look to die for.

"Shut it Smurf" Rachel said tipping her glass towards her.

When the demonstration was over, Stephanie put some music on and started pouring everyone more drinks.

"You ladies can order whatever you want over there" she said pointing to the demonstrator at the kitchen table taking orders. "But stay as long as you want, the night is young and it's my night off!" she said taking a sip of her wine.

Rachel looked down at her phone that went off from a text message. It was Finn.

:: I forgot to tell you I threw another $100 bill at the bottom of your purse ::

Rachel just shook her head, as she dug down and saw $100 bill lying there. She is so mad at him for not telling her about Million Dollar Quartet, but she also knows WHY he did what he did. She's not the one to fight over texting or the cell, and she thinks she might have another plan to get him back anyway.

:: do you really want me to spend $400 on sex toys? :: Rachel responded.

Finn read her text and smiled :: you do know who you're talking to right? ::

Rachel sighed. :: ohh all too familiar. now I know how to hit u up for money in the future ::

:: as long as that future has some real kinky shit in it :: he said back

:: don't you have to get back to work? you better start campaigning for tips after what I spend tonight :: she said.

:: I'm hard just thinking about it :: he replied.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and closed her cell phone and threw it back in her purse. She got up and went into the kitchen to place her order. A few women were patting her on the back and saying "Go Rachel" as she walked over to the others placing their orders.

2 hours later, Rachel is still at the party drinking and having a good time. No one has left…in fact, some of the women have taken out the demos and started to play around with them. There was this blow up fireman doll that everyone was taking compromising pictures with, and they threw it over to Rachel.

"Come on Rach, motor boat the blow up doll, so I can send Finn the pic on his phone" Stephanie said.

Without even hesitating, Rachel took the doll and put the head in between her boobs and did exactly what Stephanie had asked. She snapped the pic on her iphone and sent it over to Finn with the caption "Sorry Finn, your wife is leaving you for a hot fireman. He put out her fire and she couldn't resist!".

Everyone started to laugh after Stephanie read aloud her text. Rachel, a bottle of champagne in, didn't care one bit. She actually liked the idea of teasing Finn so much. She does know it's going to drive him crazy, and she knows it's probably making him hard already. She normally doesn't do this stuff to him. _He's probably going to come home tonight and be all over me,_ she laughed to herself.

An hour later…

Rachel had tip toed her way through their front door of the condo, carrying a small bag of goodies she got as a favor for going to the party tonight. She spotted Nick on the couch with a beer watching the late night cinemax movies.

"Ohhh so I see it's not just Finn" she said giggling. "I guess this TV must get stuck on this channel around this hour" she said sitting next to him on the couch.

"This movie actually isn't that good. You missed a better one on the playboy channel that I ordered for 20 bucks" he said joking around.

"Finn pays THAT bill" she said winking. "And he probably takes care of that bill, because he knows I don't want to know" she said shaking her head.

"Is that the stuff you bought?" he asked her looking at the bag.

"No you had to order most of it, so they ship it here within a week or so" she said looking through her bag. "This was just a few freebies" she said.

"I hope Stephanie got something good" he said thinking.

"So you two are dating?" she asked.

"Not dating, just….having sex" he said taking a sip of his beer.

"I would ask you to elaborate, but I'm sick of talking about sex tonight" she said moving her head to watch the TV. "It seems to be everywhere" she said referring to the movie.

"Well, thanks for leaving the money for the pizza…and yes, I did talk the delivery guy into stopping and getting a 12 pack for me. Had to pay him an extra 20, but it was well worth it" he said getting up from the couch.

"Are you saying my son is hard to babysit for without alcohol?" she asked making fun of his insinuation.

"Have you ever babysat before?" he asked her. "It's not the actual babysitting, it's the actual boringness after they go to bed and there's nothing on television on a Friday or Saturday night" he said walking over to get his coat. "And I couldn't make out with Stephanie on the couch this time" he winked.

"That's true. I'm usually so beat on the weekends, that I'm pretty much in bed right after Zachary" she said following him to the door. "And unfortunately for Finn, there is no making out when he gets home because I'm in la la land" she said giggling.

"Are you drunk?" he asked her poking her side.

"Not gonna lie Nicholas. I'm very buzzed" she said laughing at him poking her.

"I'm going to see what I can do about Million Dollar Quartet Rach. I miss working with you" he said looking down at her smiling.

"I miss working with you too….and BROADWAY" she said throwing her hands up. "The hours would have been so much better for me, because then I can be at home with Zack all morning and most of the afternoon" she said.

"Well…I would say something to Finn, but he has a history of punching me out" he said rolling his eyes.

"NO. Actually, don't even tell Finn that I know. I have a better plan for him" she said putting her hand on the door as Nick stood under the doorway.

"Ohhh man, more crazy Finn and Rachel games. You guys are more exciting to watch than the actual soap opera you're on" he said walking out.

"Good night, and thank you!" she said as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Good night. Zachary's not home yet, so you may want to call his cell. He said something about going out with this girlfriend" he said walking down the hall.

"Guess he's cooler than you. He has better plans on a Friday night" she said joking back and shutting the door behind her.

Rachel walks to Zack's room to check on him and kiss him good night. She also wanted to sneak in to make sure he actually didn't go out, even though she knows he didn't…she just laughed at the thought. She went straight towards her bedroom to get ready for bed, and she was hoping to get to bed before Finn walks in, because she knows he's going to be a crazy, horny mess. Just when she was about to go in the living room to turn the TV off, she heard the door start to open.

"Shit" she said looking for the remote to change the channel.

"Ohhhhh yeah!" Finn said pumping his hips and arms when he saw what Rachel had on TV.

"I wasn't watching this" she said finally finding the remote to turn it off.

"That's what I always say, you can't use my excuse" he said running to chase her.

Rachel started to laugh and try and run away, but he caught up to her and playfully pushed her down on the couch. Finn climbed up on top of her, and he started to maul her. He was moving so quickly, that he he didn't even know where to put his hands first.

"Oh my God, slow down cowboy" she said giggling. "What ever happened to foreplay?" she asked.

"I would slow down, but I have to make sure you don't leave me for that hot fireman" he said unzipping his own pants with his right hand, and caressing her boob with his left hand.

"He was hot wasn't he?" she laughed as he started to lift her tank top up over her head.

"He obviously thought you were too. Let me see what's so special about your boobs tonight?" he said taking his face and moving them inside between her boobs.

Rachel just let out a huge scream, laughing.

"Shhhhh you're gonna wake up our son" he said quietly laughing.

"Ohhh and if he saw this, he wouldn't like you. He doesn't like it when you touch me at all" she said.

"Seriously, he doesn't" he said lifting his head and smiling. "I guess boys are ultra protective" he said kissing her neck and face.

"Yeah they are" she said in between kisses. "Maybe we need to have a girl" she said looking into his eyes and kissing him.

"Really?" he asked her with a huge smile. "Like….NOW?" he asked with a playful grin.

"Well…I want one now, but the only problem is we'll have 2 kids at home during the day. Zachary wouldn't go to school all day until Kindergarten. That is, if we can enroll him in an all day kindergarten" she said sighing. "If only I can get a job back on Broadway" she said looking around. "This way, I can be home in the day with the kids, and then you can be home at night" she said.

"Well, I'll just go back to bartending full time and you can stay home until you find something" he said moving his mouth down to her boobs.

_Shiiit, that's not a bad idea,_ she thought as he continued to kiss down her body. _I got to think of something, _she thought as she caressed his hair with her hands as he started to pull down her pajama pants. _I got it, if he's going to use my best friend against me, then I'll use his against him,_ she thought.

"Well, I talked to Stephanie tonight and she said they might not have room for a full time bartender anymore. The bar is doing well, but not well enough to go back to full time" she said as he started to move his lips to her clit.

_Ohhhhhhh,_ she moaned to herself at the touch of his lips and tongue on her insides.

"Oh" he said lifting his head up.

Finn's not really paying attention to what Rachel is saying because it's been so long since they've had sex. She can be telling him right now that she's really a man, and she's not sure he'd even hear that.

"Anyway, let's talk about it tomorrow" she said pulling his hair tighter as he continued to swirl his tongue inside of her.

"Hmmm" he said in agreement. "Now, where's the stuff you bought?" he said with a grin, lifting his head up.

"You have to order it, so I think we have like 7-14 days or something" she said looking down at him.

"Well what's the number, I'll get rush delivery on it" he said very serious.

"Calm down please" she said laughing. "I did get some goodies in that bag" she said shifting her eyes to the coffee table, where the bag was sitting.

"Oh" he said lifting his eyebrow as he opened up the bag. "Oooh Nipple Nibbler" he said reading the box. "I guess we put this on our nipples, and it has a tingling sensation or something" he said reading what it does.

"Ok" she said smiling as she shifted her body up. "Let's go to bed and try it" she said grabbing his hand to guide him.

"I bet we can put this on other things besides our nipples" he said walking with his head down still reading the box.

"Let's give it a try" she said seductively.

"I can't wait for the real shipment of whatever you got to come in" he said turning off the lights as he guided her to the bed.

"Ohhh just wait and see" she said giggling, as he jumped on top of her.

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

**no worries, you WILL find out what Rachel ended up buying at the party...I PROMISE ;)**


	9. SuperFinn

_**Thank you, as always for the great reviews! So sorry it took so long, I hope you all have abandoned the story! **_

_3 weeks later…_

"Hey I'm looking at flights, and I'm wondering if we should drive home for Thanksgiving. They're pretty expensive" Rachel said to Finn, as she sat at the kitchen looking at her laptop.

"No PA-RADE this year?" Finn sarcastically asked, as he walked into the kitchen and glanced over her shoulder at what she was looking at.

Rachel has been in the Thanksgiving Day Parade the last few years because of her performance on Broadway. She usually catches a later flight and makes it in time for dessert every year, which everyone has grown accustomed to. She has pleaded every year with Finn to stay for the parade and fly home together, but he is set in his ways when it comes to holidays. He likes to go out to the local bar the night before and see some past high school friends, and then wake up the next morning in his pajamas and share a cup of coffee with his mom and Burt. They catch up with their lives, even though Finn talks to his mom at least once a week over the phone, it's always different in person. Then, Kurt, who also slept over, usually comes out in his Burberry pajamas and throws on the parade where Finn is forced to watch all the Broadway performances that Kurt sings along to. Finn seems annoyed by all this, but deep down he loves it. He doesn't like messing with tradition, and that has been the tradition since he's moved to New York.

"Well, I wasn't invited this year because no one gives a shit about a stupid soap opera" she said frowning.

"I thought you said the show gets a float?" he asked her.

"HALF a float, and it goes to that ol' hag, Susan Lucci" she said frowning.

"Best news I've heard all day" Finn said happily that they'll all get to travel together.

"Well, anyway" she says trying to change the subject. "What do you want to do? Now that we have a child, I'd hate to spend this much money on flights. Zack is still young enough where he'd probably sleep most of the trip no?" she asked him looking up.

"I don't know, I never had a kid before" he said just as curious. "Maybe we should leave late Tuesday, and he can sleep through the trip" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"What…like drive throughout the night? So we're rolling into town around 4am? When are you going to sleep?" she asked clicking through the airline website.

"We'll switch off. I'll drive the first half and then you drive the second half?" he asked her.

"Ok, we can do that. I'm off that Wednesday anyway. My character will be in a coma that week because she dragged 6 blocks by a motorcycle…" she said clicking out of the website.

"HEY HEY, don't ruin the show for me" he said interrupting her, before she can say more.

"Sorry" she said looking up at him. "Anyway, I won't have to do much that week, so I'm done that Tuesday, so we can leave that night. It will be perfect" she said closing her laptop.

"Well that was easy" he said smiling and patting her shoulder.

"I know…a little too easy" she said making a funny face and tilting her head towards him.

"Oh, I can start a fight if you want me to…I mean, if it will make you feel better" he said grabbing both her sides and making her ticklish.

"Stop" she said slapping him away and laughing.

"You are so sexy when you smile" he said looking at her intently.

"You are so sexy when you look at me like that" she said putting her arms around his waist and burying her head into his chest.

"I like where this is leading" he said swaying her side to side.

"Oh yeah?" she asked laughing. "Where is this leading?" she said looking up at him.

"It's leading to us finally opening that box that was delivered a couple of weeks ago, that you totally hid on me and put it in the closet under some of Zack's toys" Finn said smiling.

"When did you become a cop?" she asked him.

"Well I'm more of a private investigator. You see, I investigate all the things that have to do with your privates" he said smirking.

"That is so disgusting what you just said" she said breaking away and shaking her head.

"I investigate other things too" he said to her as he watched her walk away. _Why do you always ruin the moment Finn?_ He asked himself.

_The next day…_

"Hey Kelly, I rushed back as soon as I could, how's Zack?" Finn said to the daycare supervisor.

She called him an hour after he dropped him off at daycare. Finn had arrived at work and shortly after got a message that Zachary had a temperature and looked under the weather.

"Thanks for coming back Finn. I tried calling Ms. Berry but she's shooting right now" she said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok, her job is more important anyway" he said grinning. "Where's Zack?" he asked her.

"He's sitting on the chair. He doesn't look good to me, and he has a temperature now" she said walking over there with Finn.

"Hey Zack, daddy's here. I'll take you home buddy" he said picking him up from the chair.

"Sorry about this Finn" she said frowning and rubbing Zack's back.

"Ohhh no it's ok. He can't stay here if he's sick. I would rather have you call me than Rachel anyway. She's got to do her acting thing" he said smiling and grabbing Zack's things as he held him with his right arm.

"OMG Finn!" she yelled out as she watched Zack throw up all over Finn.

"At least I didn't feed him M&M's this time" he said calmly, as he had puked all over his jacket and shirt.

Zack started to cry a bit from the shock, but then Finn calmed him down by trying to smile and not freak him out.

"Come to the family bathroom, we got to get you guys cleaned up" she said guiding him to the bathroom down the hall in the nursery area. "You're so calm about this" she said giggling.

"Thanks Kelly" he said setting Zack down on the counter in the bathroom. "He's a puker, and besides, I've been a stay at home dad long enough to have patience for this sort of thing" he said frowning.

When they got to the bathroom, Finn had thrown his jacket and shirt off and just threw it right into the garbage.

"Well, thank God I didn't wear my Armani today" he said jokingly about his Old Navy shirt that he just threw out.

"Yeah" Kelly said laughing at his joke and also staring at his abs.

She picked up Zachary from the counter, as she watched him wash off in the bathroom sink. Of course, Zack didn't get anything over him, so he just needed to rinse his mouth off.

"I better call up and see if wardrobe can get you a shirt to wear home" she said grabbing her cell phone. "The only extra clothes we have down here are for 3 year olds" she said laughing.

"Thanks that would be great" he said as he took the water and combed it through his hair.

"Ok, they said to take the elevator up to the 12th floor, because they're too busy to send anyone down right now" she said. "Why don't I watch Zack real quick for you, because I can't leave the nursery since I'm supervisor" she said to him smiling.

"Uhhh are you sure, I don't want him to throw up on you, or get anyone else sick" he said with his hands on his waist.

"Finn, it's ok. It might have been something he ate…he's starting to look better. Just go real fast, I'll text you if it happens again" she said walking out the bathroom with him.

"Ok thanks, I'll be right back" he said patting her shoulder as he walked away towards the elavators.

When Finn got off the elevator on the 12th floor, he was greeted by a receptionist right away who looked at him puzzled as to why he had no shirt on and his hair was all wet.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked him.

"Ummm hi, I'm Finn Hudson, my son goes to the daycare downstairs, and Kelly called up and said I can borrow a shirt from wardrobe" he said to her smiling.

"Ok and was there a reason you don't have a shirt in the first place?" she asked him in a snarky way, but also stared at how good his chest looked.

"My son threw up all over me" he said looking around and rocking back and forth on his shoes.

"He goes to All Their Children daycare? Does someone in your family work here?" she asked him before letting him back to wardrobe.

"Yes, Rachel Berry is my wife" he said smiling.

"You're kidding" she said, thinking about how annoying Rachel is.

_Rachel's husband is one hot piece of ass. She sure won the lottery with this hunk,_ she thought to herself.

"No, I'm her husband and our son attends the daycare downstairs. He threw up all over me, and that's why I'm standing here in front of you shirtless and a bit wet" he said half smiling, awkwardly.

_You sure are,_ she thought to herself as she stared him down. Finn recognized that she was staring.

"Ma'am?" he asked her, looking confused at why she wasn't talking.

"Uhh YES" she said snapping out of it. "Well, you need a pass to be up here, I can't just let you through without it" she said. "Of course, I don't know who would make up being married to Rachel Berry" she mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" he asked not hearing what she said.

"Nothing, I'll call Kelly" she said, picking up the phone and dialing the daycare downstairs.

The receptionist doesn't hate Rachel, but certainly is aware of how annoying she can be, especially if your personality is the exact opposite of hers.

"Ok, I hope you don't mind I called her, but she confirmed your story. Can never be too careful these days. I mean, you could be a rapist or something" she said.

"Ohh I completely understand. I'd rather have you be cautious" he said nodding his head.

"But if you ever wanted to rape me, I wouldn't tell anyone" she mumbled again under her breath.

"What did you say" he asked leaning into her so he can hear her better.

"I said the room is down the hall and to the left" she said pointing down the hall.

"Oh, ok thanks" he said half smiling as he passed her in the hallway.

When Finn approached wardrobe, he started going through all the shirts and jackets hanging up. As he was sifting through everything, one of the writers from the show passed through the room and noticed a shirtless man going through everything.

"Umm can I help you?" he asked confused as to who Finn was.

"Ohhh, I'm ok thanks. I'm just looking for a shirt to wear. My son goes to the daycare downstairs and he threw up all over my shirt. They sent me here" he said half smiling and turning around at her.

"I see, are you married to someone who works on the show?" she asked staring at Finn's abs.

"Yes Rachel Berry" he said with a big smile.

"You're kidding" she said almost shocked.

"No…that's….my wife" he said confused, as he his having déjà vu from this conversation.

"Are you an actor?" she asked him, as she put her hand on his biceps.

"Ummm no" he said nervously laughing at her touching him.

"Sorry to be so forward but I used to be a producer, so I know what it's like to find talent. You would be PERFECT for a character that I'm developing" she said smiling up at him.

"Ohhhhh, well, I' m not really trained in acting or anything" he said looking around confused.

"You don't have to be, it's just a stupid soap opera" she said.

_That's what Rachel calls it. Maybe everyone here thinks the same way she does_, he thought to himself.

"Come with me to my office. I want you to meet one of the producers. I can get you started right away" she said guiding him out of the room.

"But…b-b-but what about my shirt?" he asked as he let her walk him out of the room.

"No, you shirtless is your best attribute. I want them to see what you'd be bringing to the show" she said pushing his back as they began to walk down the hall.

When they got to the office, she had Finn take a seat at one of the chairs. The writer picked up the phone and called one of the producers to come to her office to meet Finn.

"I really think I need to go though because my son is downstairs and I can't keep him at daycare today" he said pointing his index finger up.

"Don't worry about it, this will only take a few minutes" she said to him.

When the producer entered the room, she immediately looked at Finn sitting in the chair. He looked up at him and then stood up to shake his hand.

"You're perfect" she said barely smiling. "Have him start tomorrow, and he can come into my office to sign a contract" she said looking at the writer. "Nice to meet you" she said to Finn as he turned around to walk out.

"But wait ma'am, I didn't ask for a job here" he said as she was near the door.

"Ok, we'll give you a $20,000 signing bonus" she said turning around.

"Uhhh wha-wha-what?" he asked shocked.

"Ok, FINE, $25,000" she said as he walked out of the room.

"Is everything ok Mr. Berry?" the writer asked as she watched Finn drop his jaw.

"Everything is just fine" he said staring off into space.

"Great, then we'll see you tomorrow, 8am sharp" she said walking him out of the room.

As soon as they were walking out, Rachel had walked by the hall and spotted Finn.

"Finn!" she shouted. "What are you doing here?" she asked super confused that he was here, and even more confused that he didn't have a shirt on.

"Rachel" he said just as shocked. _What are the chances?_ He asked himself.

"Well?" she asked him. "I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself before I jump to conclusions as to why my husband is walking out of the one of the writer's offices, shirtless and wet" she asked with her hands on her hips. "Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked.

"Rachel, I can explain" the writer said to her. "I saw him roaming around in wardrobe a few minutes back and I thought he would be perfect for this role I'm writing" she said calmly. "Isn't that great? You both can be on the soap opera. Just like Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. You'd be our next power couple!" she said trying to convince Rachel that this is a good idea.

"But I don't want to be a power COUPLE" she said, as she watched the writer walk away.

"Got to go guys, Finn I'll see you tomorrow morning" she said waiving.

Finn smiled as he watched the writer walk away, and then frowned once he turned her head and saw how angry Rachel was.

"Now wait..before you throw a major fit, I can totally explain" he said as his phone started to go off.

Finn looked at his phone and noticed it was Kelly.

"Shit, Zachary!" he said as he then opened up his phone. "Kelly, I'm so sorry, I got a bit distracted. I'm on my way down" he said before he can even let her start to talk.

"Not a problem Finn, Zachary is actually ok. I was just wondering what was taking you so long" she said over the phone.

"Long story. I'll explain when I get down there" he said closing the phone.

"Ohhh ok, you'll explain the whole story to Kelly, but not me?" Rachel asked as she grabbed his phone away from his hand.

"The writer explained everything to you" he said watching her look through his phone. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm checking to see how long you have been in cahoots with All My Children for a part" she said scrolling down his phone.

"What the hell Rachel, you are acting like a psycho woman" he said just watching her.

"Ok…forget that for a minute. Why are you calling Kelly so much? And it's her CELL phone it looks like" she said throwing his phone back at him.

"It's easier to have her cell number that's all. Sometimes if I'm running late to pick Zack up, I can just text her" he said.

"Why are you picking him up? You only drop him off" she asked puzzled.

_Fuck, I just threw myself under the bus. She'll know I've been dropping him off here to go to the gym every day,_ he thought to himself.

"Look nothing. Before I knew the gym had a kid's area, I would drop him off here so I can go work out" he said to her.

"I see, so you what? Watched Zack for maybe 3 hours a day, once you count in his 3 hour nap and your 2 hour gym time? And you always complain to me that it's so hard to watch our child every day? You are so full of it Finn" she said disgusted.

"Ok, face it Rachel, this is not what you're mad about" he said shaking his head.

"You're right, I'm not mad that you go to the gym. I can SEE your progress" she said pointing to his finely chizzled chest. "BUT, I do not like being lied to, and I certainly don't like complainers when in reality your day is not that hard" she said angrily. "You're just jealous that I have a successful job, and you are the stay at home parent" she said crossing her arms.

"Ok, I don't have time to talk about this…I have to go get Zack. I'll see you tonight" he said walking away.

"Yep, see you tonight!" she said watching him walk towards the elevator shirtless.

Once Finn got back downstairs, he realized he forgot to get a shirt. _Damnit,_ he thought as he looked down at his chest.

"Finn, what happened? I thought you were getting a shirt?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I got side tracked when I got offered a job" he said shrugging.

"What?" she asked laughing.

"I'll explain it all to you tomorrow morning when I drop Zachary off" he said grabbing him from Kelly.

"Oh you're not kidding. You got a job here" she said almost laughing. "Here, take my sweatshirt jacket. It's actually my ex boyfriend's so it should fit you" she said grabbing it from the chair and handing it to him.

"Thanks, I'll bring it back tomorrow" he said zipping it up.

"Ok, can't wait to hear the story. Take care and hopefully Zack will be better. He was fine with me, so I think it will pass" she said smiling and waving goodbye.

When Finn got through the door of their condo, he was overwhelmed with what had happened today. He took Zachary straight to the bathroom to give him a bath and put pajamas on him. An hour later, he had put him down to bed. Finn had taken his much deserved shower, and went straight to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Once he opened the fridge, he noticed some leftover beer that was in there from a few weeks back that Nick had brought over.

"Fuck it" he said out loud to himself as he grabbed a beer and opened the cap in one quick motion.

Rachel had walked through the door, just as Finn was downing his beer. She threw her purse on the kitchen counter, and took her coat off.

"I thought you gave up beer until Thanksgiving?" she asked him nicely.

"What are you my sponsor?" he bit back.

"No honey" she said sarcastically. "You can do whatever you want" she said rolling her eyes as she threw her shoes off and started walking towards the living room. "Where's Zachary?" she asked looking back towards him.

"I put him to bed early because he wasn't feeling good" he said finishing off his beer and throwing it in the garbage.

"Recycle" she said back as she watched him throw the glass bottle in the garbage can instead of the recycling bin.

Finn didn't say anything and just went to the fridge and grabbed another beer. He twisted the cap and threw the cap on the floor and started to down the second beer. Rachel rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen to pick up the cap, and then grab the beer from the garbage and throw them both in the recycling bin. Finn stood in silence and watched her pick up after him.

"Ok, so is now a good time to talk about this?" she asked him.

"Talk about how you can be the only successful person in this household?" he asked her.

"No Finn, stop acting like I don't want you to be happy. I just have my OWN thing, and my OWN dreams, and you have yours. Why do you have to impose on mine now?" she asked him as she leaned her hand on the kitchen counter.

"Rachel, it's not like I purposely went after the same job. Zack threw up all over me, Kelly said to go up to wardrobe to get a shirt, and the writer discovered me wandering around in there. That was IT" he said throwing his hands up. "I can't help it that I look this good" he said pointing to his bare chest in the kitchen.

Rachel just stared at how good Finn looked and sighed. He stared back at her waiting for her to respond. She closed her eyes, and he walked over to her and hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her neck.

"Come on say something" he begged her.

"I am happy that you got discovered in the wardrobe closet today Finn. I am" she said turning around, almost sounding sarcastic.

Finn actually couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but he let her continue.

"And I want you to be successful, but I just feel that this is MY thing. I mean, I wouldn't go to a news station and demand a sportscaster job. Partly because I don't care about sports, but more importantly, I wouldn't do it because that's YOUR thing. We need to have separate hobbies" she said to him, hoping he understands.

"But that's just it Rachel. It will be. No one is infringing on your dreams or your rights to chase after your dreams. If I was holding you back in any way, then sure. But, you can be on the show, and I can be on the show. You'll still be a star" he said to her.

_Like you were holding me back when you didn't give me the message about Nick and Million Dollar Quartet? _She thought to herself.

"But, what if I go back to Broadway? You on a soap opera, me on in the theatre, and us wanting more kids?" she asked him as she turned around to face him.

"We'll make it work!" he said putting his hands on her shoulder and sporting that half smile of his.

"Ohh Finn" she said sighing loud.

"You get way ahead of yourself. Just take it day by day ok? We have come a long way since both of us were unemployed and worried about how we were going to pay the bills. Now we both will have 2 very steady incomes coming in" he said.

"You're right" she said digging her head in his chest.

"Aaaand, we have a healthy child. We all love each other…" he said trying to list more things.

"We do" she said cutting him off and kissing his chest. "I can't believe this chest got you a job on All My Children today" she said continuing to kiss it.

"Yeah, I actually owe Nick, but I wouldn't never tell him that" he said.

"So, he's responsible for both of us getting a job at All My Children?" she asked jokingly.

"Guess he is" he said, squeezing onto Rachel tight.

"If only he could have gotten me a job on Million Dollar Quartet" she said, knowing full well that he had told Finn about it, but he lied and kept it from Rachel.

"Yeah" Finn said moving his eyes around. "Anyway, uhhhh let's go to bed" he said with a grin and trying to change the subject.

"It's 6:45" she said looking at her watch.

"I didn't say go to SLEEP" he said winking at her.

"Not right now baby, but we will have some alone time I promise. I want to call Nick and ask him about the show" she said going to her purse to dig out her phone.

"Wait, NO" he said throwing his arm up to stop her.

"What?" she asked him.

Rachel is fully aware of why Finn is acting the way he's acting. He kept the job opening from her because he didn't want her to go back to Broadway. She found out, but has not led on that she knows. She wants Finn to admit the truth himself. However, she knows why he did it, and tries to look at things from his side.

"Let's not talk about anything work related tonight. Why can't we just spend some time together since Zack is in bed early?" he pleaded with her.

Rachel is torn between starting another fight or just letting it go tonight. She enjoys being the only actor in the family, and really doesn't want Finn to rain on her parade.

"Ok, let's have a finchel night" she said smiling.

"Whoa…did you just use the term finchel? I thought you said it only worked in high school or if we were both A-list celebrities?" he asked her.

"Well now since we're both actors on one of the most popular daytime soap operas…I suppose we need to bring that title back. Like Bradgelina" she said laughing.

"Yeah" he said poking her sides, making her laugh.

"Stop it" she said trying to push him away.

Finn kept poking Rachel and groping her as she started to move towards the couch. He climbed up on top of her and started to kiss her. As soon as he started to play with taking her shirt off, his cell phone rang. He stopped what he was doing to grab his phone out of his pocket to see who it was.

"Hello?" he said as he answered his phone.

Rachel kept kissing around his face and playing with his chest, as he listened to see who it was.

"Oh Hi" he enthusiastically said, as he broke contact with Rachel to stand up and walk away.

Rachel just shrugged and blew her hair out of her face as she watched Finn walk away. She didn't think much of the call, and figured it was Stephanie.

"Can't you tell Steph to call you back?" she playfully yelled at him as he paced the floor on the phone.

Finn shushed her, and motioned to her that it wasn't Stephanie.

"Oh sorry" she quietly said out loud.

"Ohhh wow! Yeah! I guess I have to huh?" he said to the other person on the phone. "Ok, yeah we'll talk about it tomorrow, but that should be great! Thanks, bye" he said hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Rachel asked as she positioned herself up on the couch to look at Finn.

"Ohhh you're not going to believe this, but…" Finn enthusiastically said and then stopped himself from finishing.

"But what?" she asked as she tried to coach him into finishing his sentence.

"I uhhhh…ok Rachel" he said sighing. "You might want to sit down for this" he said walking over to her and putting his hands on her shoulder.

"I am sitting Finn, you're scaring me….what's going on?" she asked him, as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"They want me to do the parade with Susan Lucci this year" he said to her looking around, trying to avoid eye contact.

"What parade?" she asked, full knowing what parade he's talking about.

"The…Thanksgiving Day Parade" he mumbled the last few words so she couldn't understand, but she knew what he said.

"Did you say the Thanksgiving Day Parade?" she asked him almost calm.

"Yes. I didn't plan for this to happen, but apparently, they want me to play Susan Lucci's son. Since I'm the new hunk on the show….uhhh THEIR words, not mine" he said. "They want to use me" he hesitantly said.

"USE you?" she mocking asked.

"Well like…for advertising and stuff" he said half smiling.

"What do you mean ADVERTISING?" she asked confused.

"They are branding themselves a work out dvd, and they want me to be featured" he told her as she just kept staring in disbelief.

"I'm sorry…..WHAT?" she asked him not understanding what's truly going on.

"After they saw my abs and well….ME" he said. "They want to do a work out dvd featuring the stars of All My Chil…dren" he slowly mumbled off as he watched Rachel's face turn grey.

"Sooo…let me get this straight" she said getting up from the couch. "YOU, who was…well, FAT a month or so ago, and also has NO acting experience….stumbles into the wardrobe closet at MY job today, and finds himself a role as SUSAN LUCCI'S son, who I've yet to meet because I'm never in any scenes with her. On top of THAT, you get to star with her on the Thanksgiving Day Parade float, and be featured in their new WORK OUT video, and again…let me remind everyone here that you were FAT a few months back, but was saved by my EX partner on a Broadway show, whom you kept a role from me because of some jealous reason" she said.

"Wait…how did you know about that?' Finn asked cutting her off.

"…Meanwhile, I've been working my ASS off every morning at the gym, and at the studio, and I have been playing an ex nun, turned hooker who barely gets recognized for my efforts" she said, ignoring Finn's interruption.

"Ok, well I can't quit because they're giving me a $25,000 signing bonus" he said.

"They are giving you that much money to sign?" she asked, not being able to believe it.

"Yeah…that's why I can't refuse it. I can't help that other people find me sexy Rachel. Apparently people pay money to see this" he says as he rubs his abs. "You get to have it for free, and STILL, I have trouble with you wanting it" he said.

"Ohhh Finn stop it…I wanted it just now, but you were distracted by your phone call that you had to take in the middle of our foreplay. So, don't blame ME" she said pointing to herself. "I'm sorry I don't give your abs 24 hour attention" she said.

"Well, you don't have to. The show will give me the attention that I need now" he said stretching his neck out and posing.

"You sound…."Rachel said shaking her head.

"Like YOU?" he interrupted.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and continued, "What about Thanksgiving now? You always HAVE to be home on that Wednesday so you can hang out with your Lima buddies" she asked.

"I'm a star now Rachel. My abs are needed right now. People need to be inspired by my story" he said calmly.

Rachel could not tell if he's joking, or if this is a real conversation. All she knows is that Finn has completely lost it.

"Finn…I've been training for YEARS, since I was 3 months old. You can't just walk in a closet one day with your shirt off, and become a STAR!" she said throwing her arms up.

"You can" he sighed, with a smile. "I did" he said patting her shoulder.

"Why are you acting like this?" she asked him, noticing his behavior has changed since this newfound love and attention for him.

"I'm simply taking back my confidence" he said. "I was shown today that people are impressed with what I have to offer, and I'm not going to let you stop me" he said walking back towards the kitchen to grab another beer.

"No, I'm not going to let you stop me, because that's not who I am anymore. But, maybe you should have taken a page from your book. You not telling me about A Million Dollar Quartet was not very cool Hudson" she said pointing her finger at him.

"Well…that was before I had the confidence. I encourage you to find your way on Broadway again. I've chosen TV for myself" he said taking a sip of his beer.

"Oh brother…you didn't choose anything. They discovered a somewhat, handsome guy with a decent body wandering around the halls. You haven't even read a line on a script yet. This business will eat you alive!" she said walking over to him.

"Want to make a bet?" he asked her.

"No…I'm not betting with you. Not when it comes to our careers and money" she said putting her head down

"I figured you were too scared, because you know I will rock it. Anyone can do your job" he snidely said.

Rachel just turned her head and looked at him in disbelief at his cold statement.

"Below the belt, Finn" she said staring in his eyes.

"Well…I just am trying to prove a point, that's all" he said looking around, realizing he might have crossed a line with that last statement. "Anyway, as far as Thanksgiving goes…I have an idea" he said trying to change the subject.

"After you're done stealing the show from everyone else in the parade with your knock out abs, you're going to fly like Superman over to Lima, but not before feeding all the starving children across the world?" she sarcastically said.

"Noooooo…" he said in smart ass way. "I'm going to take some of that bonus money and fly our families out here to stay with US on Thanksgiving" he said smiling.

"What?" she shockingly asked.

"Yeah…you have been saying the last few years that it would be easier to have them come to New York, so you don't have to rush on a plane to get to Lima everywhere. Well…that's what we're going to do. We're going to fly your dads, my parents, and Kurt here this year" he said proud of himself.

"Where are they going to stay? Are we paying for their hotel too?" she asked.

"No…they'll stay with US" he said as if she should have known the answer. "Kurt can stay in Zack's room on an air mattress or something, and our parents can take the other two bedrooms" he said.

"Aaaand where are WE sleeping?" she asked, tilting her head towards him and raising her eyebrow.

"On the pull out couch right here in the family room" he said, putting his hands on his hips.

"We don't have a pull out couch" she said confused.

"We will this week when we go buy one" he said, as he watched Rachel's mouth open wide. "Look, it will be fun. The whole family together, all in one roof. Both our parents will get a chance to play with Zachary and spend time with him. They only got to see him twice since he was born, and this way, they'll get to spend actual time with him. And we can spend time with them" he said, trying to convince her this is a good idea.

"Ok…" she said sighing, trying to go with his plan. "Who is cooking dinner then?" she asked, almost scared of his answer.

"I'm cooking dinner" he said proudly.

"YOU are cooking dinner?" she started to laugh. "How can you do that anyway, if you are doing the parade" she said challenging him.

"Rach…I got this. I watch my mom every year when I go to Lima. She prepares half the stuff the night before, and I just throw the turkey in before I do the parade. It will still be cooking after I get home I'm sure" he said.

"Ok" she said.

"Ok?" he asked.

Finn is confused at how easily Rachel agreed to all this.

"Well you seem to think that anyone can do my job, so I would love to watch you juggle your new acting gig, the parade, and then cooking Thanksgiving dinner…WHILE everyone in our family will be staying here for a few days. This is going to be fun" she said smiling.

"Well…I mean, YOU'RE gonna help me out a little right?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'll watch Zack. Actually, Kurt and I can do some shopping downtown with him, and go out to lunch. Maybe Nick can meet us. This is actually going to be really nice and relaxing. I get to wake up that morning in my pajamas and watch the parade with a hot cup of coffee. Spend time with my dads and your parents. I actually can't wait now!" she said patting his back and walking towards the couch.

Rachel is still not that thrilled that Finn is stealing her thunder and taking over her role this year as parade ambassador, and the ONLY television star in the family, but she realized she has no choice. She can't force him to quit, because it will look bad on her. She figures if Finn thinks it's that easy to be a star, then she's going to let him see just how much work it is. She figures maybe this way, he'll understand why she's tired during the week most of the time as well.

_If I can't fight it, might as well join in, _she thought to herself.

"Good. Being a star can't be that hard Rachel!" he said as he watched her walk away.

"You better call everyone and tell them the good news. Then, get online and book their tickets" she said as she grabbed the remote for the TV.

"This is going to be fun, I promise you!" he said.

**END OF CHAPTER 9**

**Note: Does Rachel's dads have names? Thanks!**


	10. If You Like Pina Coladas with Umbrellas

_**Thanks everyone for your input. Thanks again for the reviews...I had to break up Thanksgiving, because it became too long. I hope you like this chapter, I had a hard time coming up with something funny this time...so I hope it's ok! I apologize in advance if it's not...**_

_One week later…_

"Ok, it's all set babe, everyone has their flight information. I am picking them up from the airport in two weeks from Wednesday" he said as he walked in their bedroom, as Rachel was lying on the bed reading a magazine.

"Great! I talked to my dad's today and they said they were very excited. Of course, it took me a bit of convincing for them to stay with us and not a hotel. They're more high maintenance than me" she said.

"Not when they see our condo. Besides, they are the one's getting the master bedroom" he said as he went over to the nightstand to take off his clothes.

"Yeah" she said barely listening to him as she flips the pages of her magazine.

Finn throws his clothes in the hamper in their closet, and runs to the bed and jumps on it.

"Hey!" Rachel said as he rattled her.

"I just want to let you know that I have to do this sex scene tomorrow with Nadia, who plays Rachel" he said smiling as he bent his elbow and rested his head on his hand.

"Well that should be easy for you. You can just moan the name "Rachel" and think of me the entire time" she said, with her head buried into the magazine and not looking up at him.

Finn continues to stare Rachel down and smile awkwardly at her. She can sense she's being stared at, so she slowly looks up at him and makes a face.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked him, as she set the magazine down.

"That's all you have to say? You're not jealous of me and Nadia having that scene?" he asked her.

"Not really" she said, as she continued to bring the magazine back and up and kept reading it. "I mean, I make out with Jeff sometimes" she said shrugging.

Finn is desperately trying to make her jealous, but he realizes it's not working. He knows his wife well enough to know it bothers her, but also knows she's really good at disguising her feelings.

"Yeah, but Jeff is like 65 years old" he said shrugging back.

"Ok Finn…I get it. Nadia is a beautiful twenty-something who has legs that go on for miles, and I get to make out with Jeff, whose mustache scratches the shit out of me, and he walks with a limp when he's nervous" she said rolling her eyes. "You win Finny, you win" she said sighing.

"Well…no, it's not about winning at all. I just was wondering how you feel about me being romantic with a hot model…

Rachel shoots Finn a look when he said "hot"…

"I MEAN…a former model…who is considered to be SOMEHWAT good looking. I mean, you're not bothered by it?" he asked her seriously.

"Babe, you're new to this acting thing" she said as she put her magazine down and faced Finn. "There really is nothing romantic about love scenes on television believe me. The cameras are in your face, the lighting is hot…you're constantly worried about placement; especially with clothing. There are at least 6 people in the room, and the director is watching every move you make. It's actually quite annoying, and you just want it to end" she said sounding exhausted.

"What about those scenes you did with Nick in Spring Awakening?" he asked intently.

_Ohh Live theatre is waaay different,_ she thought to herself. _God, I miss it._

Rachel didn't know how to respond, because she truly only looked at it as acting, but It was a lot more intense, and there were no cameras in their faces. They were definitely in character, and it had to be that way. The only time Rachel would break character would be if she can hear the audience start to cat call during the sex scene.

"Same" she said quickly, flipping the page of her magazine and not looking up.

"Well…do you want to show me how you do it?" he asked her seductively.

"I'm a firm believer in learning on the spot…you'll be fine tomorrow Hudson" she says playing hard to get.

"Ok" he sighs, as he rolls over and gets under the covers.

Rachel put her magazine down and looked at the back of Finn. She started to feel bad that she was being evasive, and figured maybe he was just trying to get her to be jealous because he wanted her attention. She made a sad face, and got behind him and kissed the back of his shoulder.

"Do you want to show me some of your acting skills before you go to bed?" she said as she continued to place kisses on his shoulder.

Finn abruptly turns around and faces her. He kisses her and runs his hands through her hair.

"I'm not acting when I'm kissing you" he said as he broke the kiss and looked her in the eyes.

"Neither am I" she said smiling.

_Two weeks later…_

Finn walked through the door rather late, because he was rehearsing for the parade on Thursday. It's Tuesday night, and he's exhausted. Since he's the new character on the show, they have been giving him tons of lines. He's already had 2 different girlfriends on the show, and many scenes with Susan Lucci. Rachel is extremely jealous that he's got a way bigger part, but she's trying to look at the bright side of things. She'll have a nice 4 day weekend off, while Finn will be running all over the place.

"Rach!" he yelled out as he threw his coat off.

"Hey" she said back as she was playing around with the fold out couch they had just bought.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as he walked over to give her a kiss.

"I'm getting our new bed ready for tomorrow. I just bought some new sheets for both our parents and for this bed" she said kissing him back.

"You went today?" he asked.

"Yeah, I went after work with Zack. He threw a major FIT at Target when I was checking out at the counter. People were looking at me, and I think a few women recognized me…I was MORTIFIED" she said sighing. "He's been really hard to take places lately".

"Well…he'll learn" Finn said. "Actually, he's going to learn quicker, because he's going to see the airport tomorrow" Finn said.

"Why are you taking him to the airport? I'm off tomorrow" she said looking at him confused.

"Well…you have to pick them up now. I got called in the producer's office, and they need me to shoot some scenes for that work out dvd they're doing. Because of that, they pushed our rehearsals for the parade back…I won't be home until 5 or 6 now" he said frowning.

"Well Finn…I can't take Zack with me. There won't be any room in the truck for all of us" she said.

Finn and Rachel had gotten rid of their car last year when Zachary was born. They bought a small SUV, which Rachel was opposed to…but when Finn offered to get her a minivan, she through a diva fit saying that Barbara would never drive one, therefore she would never drive one.

"Ok, ummmm let me think about this for a minute" he said running his hand in his hair.

"Nick" Rachel said giving that one name answer that Finn always loves to hear. "He's off tomorrow, and he'd be perfect to babysit, and you know it" she said pointing her finger at him. "Besides, he already asked us what we're doing tomorrow night and I said we'd go somewhere. Our parent's will watch Zack" she said smiling.

"He asked what WE were doing? No, he asked what YOU were doing" he said.

"Finn, he likes you, you both like each other…you just won't admit it. Besides…you have the one thing that he can NEVER have" she said smiling and hugging him.

"Blond hair?" he asked.

Rachel just hit him and he started to laugh.

"Anyway, you're right, Nick makes sense I guess. Steph can't because it's the busiest bar night of the year, so she will be swamped" he said.

"I'll call him now" she said as she went to grab her phone.

"Wait!" he said grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "Let's test this bed out" he said winking.

"Finn…this bed will be for sleeping only…not with BOTH our parents and Kurt walking around, and not to mention we wouldn't have any DOORS" she said rolling her eyes.

"They're not here now babe" he said smiling.

"I know, but I just washed all these sheeeeets" she said whining.

"You seriously need to learn to live for the moment sometimes. Be a bit more spontaneous you know?" he asked her smiling and shaking his head.

"I-I-I am spontaneous. There were plenty of crazy nights we've had" she said trying to defend herself.

"Most of them were with your theatre geeks, and I was always working a broadcast. And the last year, you have had ONE semi crazy night, which was the night of that sex party…which I have STILL not been able to enjoy any of that stuff. You haven't even taken it out of the box!" he said throwing his arm up.

"Easy easy" she said giggling. "We'll take it out soon, but obviously not this weekend. Besides, you are the one who has been super tired the last few weeks. You have been sleeping before me. Want to admit how hard of a job it is?" she asked him tilting her head and looking in his eyes.

Finn knew he was stuck. He has totally been tired. Aside from tonight, he hasn't even initiated sex since he started at All My Children. In fact, last week, Rachel was all over him when he got home, but he was so hungry, he couldn't think. By the time he ate, then showered, she had fallen asleep on the couch. He knew better to learn to take advantage of those moments, but he has never been this tired. He's been struggling with Rachel finding out, because he hates it when she is right.

"It's not that hard" he said breaking contact and walking to the fridge to grab a beer. "Ok…we are OUT of beer?" he lifted his head from the fridge and frowned.

"Don't look at me" she said.

"Didn't you go shopping last night?" he asked her. "I see you bought a whole bunch of foo-fee stuff to make martinis for you and Kurt…including these stupid little umbrellas" he said picking the box of umbrellas up and shaking his head.

"Ok, first off…you don't put umbrellas in martinis. The umbrellas are for the pina coladas" she said

"Ok, WHO has pina coladas on Thanksgiving?" he asked her. "And besides, is that even a vegan drink?"

"I don't know…but it's good. I-I-I'm sure the alcohol kills any animal product that might be in there" she said trying to convince herself otherwise.

Finn just looked at her all sad that she didn't buy him beer, and only thought about her and Kurt.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't think to look to see if we were out of beer. I'm sure Nick will bring some tomorrow when he comes to babysit" she said starting to fold the rest of the sheets. "And I guess I forgot that Burt likes beer" she said, admitting she was being selfish.

"Yeah, but Nick is babysitting at like 3" he said not knowing why he would bring beer.

"Weeeeelllll" she said biting her lip. "He's sorta hanging out with us tomorrow night" she said looking at Finn sheepishly.

"What!" he asked shocked.

"I thought it would be nice to go out for a few drinks with Kurt. Our parents won't want to stay out late, so they can watch Zack. I invited Nick. We were probably going to go to Stephanie's bar" she said barely making eye contact.

"How come you guys are making plans without me?" he said as he started to open up Rachel's pina colada mix.

"Hey!" she said referring to him opening up the bottle.

Finn just shot her an evil look, and she can tell now was not a time to mess with him.

"Well, I'm off tomorrow, Kurt is in town…I want to go out Finn. And I want Kurt to meet Nick. He's seen him on TV many times, and he never did get to come out here and see the play live. He's dying to meet him" she said. "Besides…how come you get to have all the fun every Black Wednesday in Lima, but I can't?" she asks him.

"Nothing…I'm just jea" he said stopping himself from finishing that sentence.

"Jealous?" she asked him.

"Nooooo..I was gonna say gellin' for a good time" he said pouring the mix into the blender with ice.

"Ok, NO ONE says 'gellin'" she says rolling her eyes.

"I can't hear you" he said as he turned the blender on.

All Rachel can do was laugh internally at how cute he is when he gets jealous. She's not even sure exactly what he's jealous about, but this time it's not exactly over Nick. She thinks it's more about Finn not being able to have as much fun because he's got to be up early and not hungover for the parade every year.

"Can I try it?" she asked, as she walked over to the kitchen.

"No make your own" he said, as he opened the box of umbrellas and stuck one in his cup.

Rachel just rolled her eyes as she watched her husband throw a huge hissy fit over something so stupid.

"Finn" she said sighing, as she walked over to him. "I'm planning on you still going out with us…I know you'll just have to leave earlier to go home and get some rest" she said smiling at how cute he looks when he pouts.

"Ok" he said quietly as he took a sip of his drink and played with his umbrella.

Rachel just laughed and gave him a big kiss.

"We promise we won't have any fun until you get home tomorrow ok?" she said kissing him on the cheek. "Do you want to admit NOW that being an actor isn't always that easy?" she asked smiling.

"No. It's EASY" he said, as he continued to pout. He will not admit to Rachel that being an actor is not always what it's cracked up to be.

_The next morning…_

Finn got up at 4:30 to start on the stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. He figured he'd have no time later today, with the entire family being here later. He quietly started to make everything, while Rachel was sleeping. He was so proud of himself for even attempting to make everything, and he insisted that Rachel doesn't do anything. He wanted to do everything himself.

_A few hours later…_

"Goodbye Rachel" Finn said as he leaned down to kiss her on the shoulder.

"What time is it?" she asked him as she rolled over in bed, still half asleep.

"7:30am…Zack should be waking up soon. Call me later when you pick everyone up" he said as he grabbed his watch from the dresser to put it on.

"Ok, I got to get up. It was so nice to sleep in" she said smiling.

After a few hours of straightening everything up for everyone, and getting everyone's room together…Rachel finally sat down to have a cup of coffee. She had asked Nick to come over earlier so he can watch Zachary while she showers and gets ready.

"Ok, Uncle Nick is here" he said as he came through their front door, carrying a duffle bag.

"I'm beginning to think you got a key made now" she said rolling her eyes and smiling.

"It's nice to see you too stranger" he said walking to give Rachel a hug.

"Thanks for coming early, so you want some coffee?" she asked him.

"No thanks…we're going to start drinking soon!" he excitedly said as he went back in the hallway to grab his 24 pack of beer he brought.

"Ohhh geez" she said shaking her head. "And what's the bag for?" she asked him.

"In case I need to spend the night" he said as he walked the beer over to the fridge.

"I won't have anywhere to put you. Our parent's are taking the rooms, and Kurt is sleeping on an air mattress in Zack's room" she said.

"Where are you and Finn?" he asked her as he continued to take the beer out of the case and fill the fridge.

"Pull out couch..we just bought it" she said taking a sip of her coffee.

"There's plenty of room for 3" he said, as he glanced over to look at their couch.

"You HAVE to slip a sex joke in every time, don't cha Nicholas? Kurt's gonna love you!" she said.

Nick just smiles as finished putting the beer in the fridge, while Rachel finishes her coffee and brings her mug to the sink.

"Ok, I better go and shower, I have to leave in 45" she said as she started to walk out of the kitchen. "Thanks again Nick" she said.

"No problem!" Nick said as he went into the family room to go play with Zack.

When Rachel finished getting ready, she walked out of her bedroom to see Nick sitting on the couch flipping through channels

"Where's Zack?" she asked as she walked towards the couch.

"Nap" he said as he landed on All My Children.

"Oh, I look like such a slut on TV" she said rolling her eyes as soon as she saw a scene of her hustling for money outside the lounge where she performs.

"You know Rachel…I think you're a small story away from a daytime Emmy" Nick joked around as he turned to face her, lifting his eyebrows.

"Hilarious Nicholas" she said as she walked towards the kitchen to get her purse. "Ok, I'm going to get the crew, thanks again for babysitting" she said smiling.

"My pleasure, can't wait to meet everyone!" he said as he turned and smiled.

"Ohhh it's going to be….something" she said shaking her head at the thought of everyone under the same roof for 4 days. "I'll should be back by 4, please make sure Zack looks nice after his nap" she said grabbing her things.

"I'll make sure he's got his Armani on" he said being sarcastic.

Rachel smiled at his joke, and walked out the door.

_A few short hours later…_

"I'm not mad Kurt, I just don't understand why you had to make Rachel stop at two different stores to get some stupid moisturizing cream that you forgot to pack anyway" Burt said as they were walking up the stairs to their condo.

"Listen, It wasn't that big of a deal. I just couldn't remember if I got it at Walgreens or CVS. Now, I have my cream and I won't have to worry about getting it tomorrow" he said rolling his eyes.

"Ok, well now that Kurt has the right facial cream, we can all have Thanksgiving dinner" Burt said sarcastically.

"Ok, will you two please stop it" Carol said to the both of them. "Leroy and Heram are going to think that all we do is fight!" she said loudly in the hallway.

"Don't know why they'd think that" Burt and Kurt said in unison as they rolled their eyes.

"It's fine…I was on Kurt's side. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and who knows if any of the stores would have been open. Can't eat turkey with bad pores" Leroy said trying to make a joke.

"THANK you Leroy, you were always my favorite" he said winking at him. "Besides, it obviously didn't stop the rest of you from buying candy there" he said.

Everyone looks down at their open candy bags that they've been eating in the car.

"Yes, thank you Kurt, because now I have to vacuum out all the Rasinets that spilled" Rachel said looking at Heram.

"If I'm not mistaken honey, you stopped sort of abruptly at that light" he said to her.

"That's because she was trying to rush home, probably to get us all out of her car" Kurt said, patting Rachel on the shoulder.

"Ok, well we're all here now" Rachel said smiling at everyone as she digs for her keys in her purse.

Suddenly the front door opens, and it's Nick greeting them without his shirt on. Everyone was shocked at her babysitter. Rachel had not told them that she got her ex-Broadway partner to babysit. Leroy and Heram were able to meet him once when they came to New York to see the play, but they didn't realize he'd also be babysitting their grandson.

"Hello" Nick said, smiling at everyone.

"Hi" everyone said in unison, as they all stared at his perfectly chiseled chest.

Rachel noticed how everyone was just staring at Nick, and how uncomfortable Nick was starting to get.

"Uh, uh…guys this is Nick!" she said smiling and pointing to him. "Dad and Daddy, you guys remember Nick?" she looked at her dads hoping they'd remember.

"Of course we do! Nice to see you again Nick" Leroy said as he leaned in to shake his hand.

"Ok, why are we all standing in the hallway? Come on guys, let's go in" Rachel said, as she guided everyone through the door.

"There he is!" Carol excitedly said as she saw Zachary playing in the living room.

"Nick, why is your shirt off?" she whispered in his ear as they all were walking in.

"Zack spilled his juice all over it, so I put it in the washer, sorry" he said shrugging.

Nick glanced up and saw Kurt staring at him and giving a seductive smile. Nick just smiled back politely.

"Ok…well you brought other clothes, so can't you just put on another shirt?" she asked him as she started to grind her teeth.

"I didn't bring an extra lying around shirt! I just brought my Thanksgiving shirt" he said to her as if she should know.

"Oh brother, you ARE gay" she said shaking her head and nudging him.

"Hi, I'm Kurt. Finn's brother" he said as he walked over to Nick to introduce himself.

"Nice to meet you Kurt, I got your friend request on Facebook" he said smiling and shaking his hand.

"Yes, well…I have been dying to meet you" he said smiling. "Are you going out with us tonight?

"Yeah, that's my plan" Nick said smiling.

"Great…you'll have to tell me all about the inside scoop of what it was REALLY like to work with Rachel" he said winking and nudging him.

"Well, Rachel is Rachel, there are no secrets there. But, working close with her on Spring Awakening, I've learned a secret or two…" he started to say as he leaned in closer to whisper.

"Like what?" Kurt said as his face started to beam with excitement.

"She has a third nipple" he said to him in his ear, and then looked at him intensely.

"Whaaaaat?" Kurt said, almost getting nervous.

Before Nick can even tell him he was joking, he started to laugh really hard.

"OMG, you had me for a second" Kurt said as he started to shake his head and laugh.

"Hey, you'll never really know if I'm lying or not" he said elbowing him.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Rachel said to both of them as she walked over. They both just stared down at her chest, and then looked away real fast and started to laugh.

"Is something on my shirt?" she asked as she looked down at her shirt. They both continued to laugh. "Anyway, I'm going to go grab you a shirt Malibu Ken" she said referring to NIck.

"You got it babe" he said smiling. "Ok, I'm getting this party started. WHO wants a drink?" he yelled out to everyone in the room.

The 4 grandparent's were in the living room playing with Zack and talking. As soon as they all heard the word "drink", they turned around and looked at Nick.

"Yes please!" everyone yelled out in unison.

"Scotch" Burt yelled out.

"Wine please" Carol said.

"Make that 2" Leroy replied.

"Oooh I don't know" Heram said.

"We have margaritas and pina coladas daddy" Rachel said to him turning around.

"You had me at Margarita" he said smiling at her.

"Make that 2" Rachel said smiling at Nick.

"THREE" Kurt jumped on that idea.

"Ok ok…I can see you are all a shy group" he said shaking his head.

"You asked us" Rachel said as she threw him one of Finn's t-shirts to put on. "Better hear a blender in a few minutes" she said winking her eye at him.

Nick just chuckled as he juggled the shirt that she threw at him. Rachel started to walk towards everyone in the living room, when she heard her phone started to ring.

"Hey babe" Rachel said as she answered her cell phone.

"Hi Rach, is everyone there…I think I can hear that everyone is there" Finn said almost melancholy.

"They are…we are" she said smiling. "Can't wait for you to come home" she said to him.

"Is that a blender I hear in the background?" he asked, knowing full well that they're all there having fun and drinking and he's stuck at work.

"Ohhh yeah, black Wednesday babe. Isn't this what you do every year with your friends when I'm stuck in New York rehearsing for the parade and getting work done?" she asked him, wanting to admit that her job isn't that easy.

"Yeah sorta. But glad everyone got in safe, that's why I called" she said to her.

"Everyone is safe and we're all here. We will probably order a pizza later and just hang out. Nick and Kurt want to go out, so we might go to Stephanie's bar. Are you planning on going out with us?" she asked him.

"Yeah of course…I can't make it too late of a night, but I do want to go out. I should hopefully be out of here in an hour or so, so no later than 6" he said as he looked at his watch.

"Great…I can't wait for you to see everyone" she said again smiling.

"Yeah me too…don't have too much fun without me" he said, knowing that they will anyway.

"We won't babe…we won't have any fun without you. Party starts when you get here" she said to him.

"Ok…I'll text you when I'm on my way" he said.

"Ok, see you later" she said as she hung up the phone.

Nick came by and handed Rachel her margarita…that had a funky straw and mini umbrella in it.

"Thanks!" she said as she took a sip from her curly straw.

Rachel turned around and saw that everyone had a drink in their hand, and they were all just laughing and getting along.

"Ok…a small toast" she said to everyone as she walked over. "I wanted to thank everyone for coming. This was really all of Finn's idea, so he gets all the credit" she said smiling.

"That's my boy, best gift ever" Carole said as she put her glass up high. "Thanks to the both of you for such a wonderful gift" she said smiling.

"You're welcome. Now, let's all have some fun" she said giggling. "Of course, I told Finn we would wait, and not have any fun until he gets home" she said with a suspicious grin.

Everyone just looked down at their drinks, and then just looked back at everyone else around the room. They all just rocked back and forth on their feet and didn't know what to do. You can tell they were all contemplating having fun, but was trying to respect Finn because they know he paid for everyone to come, and it was all of his idea.

"Ok, who we kidding! We're all together, it's Black Wednesday, and this drink tastes like pink" she said as she walked over to their ipod docking station to start playing music.

Everyone started to laugh and go back to their conversations. The running joke with her family and friends is the "this drink taste like pink" line. Rachel blurted it out the first time she ever drank and had a party, and it always stuck every time there was a party after that. Finn ended up telling the story to everyone, and it sort of became an inside joke with everyone. They even eventually told her dads after they got married, when they were all swapping stories about growing up.

Rachel went and put on music, and Kurt automatically started to dance with Zachary. Everyone was loose and just having a good time.

"Thanks again Rach" Leroy said as he walked over and gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah" Heram said as he went in for a group hug. "We're so proud of you. Your career, your husband, your family. You have so much to be thankful for" he said hugging her tightly.

"Thanks dads" she said nudging them. "I hit the jackpot with Finn. We truly are happy" she said sighing.

"What's the deal with Nick though? Does he still like you?" Leroy asked her as they both glanced over to Nick, who is talking with Kurt.

"No no..he's got a girlfriend actually. I think his thing was that he is single, and we were both in an intense musical. We were just at different stages in our lives. He could go out every night with the cast, I couldn't…but it's all worked out now. He's a good friend, and he helps us out a lot when we need a babysitter" she said to the both of them.

"Loves to show off his abs it looks like" Heram said.

"That's just Nick. Just wait until you see Finn. He's in tip top shape! I'm so proud of him…he looks so good. I think it's what landed him the role at All My Children" she said.

"What's that like? Working with your husband?" Leroy asked.

"It's actually fine. I don't even feel like I work with him. We're in completely different scenes. I'm not sure our characters will ever cross paths anyway" she said shrugging. "He's already got a bigger role than me…but that's the business", she said fighting back a frown.

"Hey Rachel…come here and tell Nick about the time I came to visit you here in college, and we both got a ride home from that cop" Kurt said as he interrupted their conversation, and grabbed Rachel's arm.

"Kuuuurt" she said shaking her head. "My dads are right here goof" she said looking back at them, as they gave her a funny look. "I was perfect in college dad and daddy!" she yelled at them.

"Sure" they both said as they put their glasses up, and started to walk towards Burt and Carol.

As everyone continued to talk, and Zachary continued to just dance around as the music blared…Finn tried texting Rachel to tell him he was on his way home, but she never noticed. They were all just enjoying everyone's company, laughing, and sharing stories.

When Finn walked through the door, he saw everyone having a good time. He was glad to see everyone, but he was also sad that he was exhausted from work all day, and bummed that he'd have to be up early in the morning for the parade.

"Finn!" Carol yelled as she ran over to give him a hug and a kiss.

"Hi mom" he said smiling and hugging her back.

Soon…Burt, Leroy, Heram and Kurt came over to hug and greet him. Rachel waited for everyone to say hi, and then walked over to Finn and handed him a beer, and gave him a quick, short kiss.

"Hi baby, how was work?" Rachel asked him.

"Good, I'm just ti…" he stopped himself as he was about to say "tired", but didn't want Rachel to catch on that he thinks this work is harder than he used to make it out to be.

For years, Rachel would always tell Finn how tired she was some nights when she would get home, and he would always play it off that she was just being dramatic. Especially on Thanksgiving, when Finn would complain about his long drive, but would be at the bars with his friends, and Rachel would be tired from working all day…and then she would have to get up early, do the parade, then hop on a plane to be in Lima in time for dessert.

"Tired?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"No…I'm totally excited to see everyone and ready to go!" he said slapping her butt.

"Ow" she said as she walked away to check on everyone's drinks.

Finn walked over to pick up Zachary and give him a kiss. Everyone continued to talk and just enjoy the company.

"Ok, let's order a pizza" Rachel said as she brought out a few menus.

"Are you guys going out?" Burt asked Rachel…referring to her, Finn, Kurt and Nick.

"Hell to the YEAH" Kurt said to Burt as he took a sip of his Margarita. "We're in New York bitches!" he said excitedly.

"You don't mind watching Zachary do you? He should be in bed by 8ish anyway" Rachel said as she walked over to Carol.

"Ohhhh no, not at all. That was our plan. Us grandparent's are too old to go out…you guys go and have fun. We'd rather sit here and relax" she said to Rachel as she rubbed her back.

"Great, I called Steph and she reserved a table for us at the bar" Nick said as he walked over to them.

"Who's Steph?" Kurt asked.

"His girlfriend" Finn gladly answered, as he took a sip of his beer and walked towards Kurt, Rachel and Nick.

"Ok, it's settled then. We'll go to Steph's bar" Rachel said smiling, as the four of them clinged their glasses together at the notion.

"Well this is gonna be a fun night" Nick smiled.

"I better get Zachary ready for bed, so it's easier on our parents" Rachel said as she put her glass down to attend to their son.

"I better go change" Finn said as he walked in their bedroom to freshen up.

Everyone continued to talk, while Nick went ahead and ordered pizza for everyone. Finn went into their bedroom to take a quick shower and change. Rachel had given Zachary a bath, and put his pajamas on. She brought Zack out, and Leroy, Heram, Burt and Carol immediately went over to him and took him from Rachel. She smiled and was glad she had his grandparents in town to give him all the attention.

Rachel had walked in their bedroom to bring her parent's bags in for them, and she saw Finn walk out of the bathroom naked.

"Finn!" she yelled at him.

"What?" he asked her as he went to his nightstand to grab some boxers.

"You forgot that we have 6 other people here, and my dads are staying in this room. You can't walk out naked" she reprimanded him like a little child.

"Nothing they haven't seen before Rach" he said brushing her off, as he threw his boxers on.

"Anyway" she said shaking her head. "I ironed your clothes for tomorrow already…you have to grab a pair of boxers and your toiletries and put them in the other bathroom. You have to leave early tomorrow" she said to him.

"I know, I know" he said rolling his eyes and yawning.

"Tired Hudson?" she asked him.

"Nope. I'm fine. I'm ready to party all night babe" he said smiling, as he walked into their closet to grab some jeans and a shirt to wear for tonight.

"What about that turkey and everything else?" she asked him.

"I got it this morning and washed it already. I just have to put it in the oven tomorrow before I leave. I got this babe, I told you" he said walking over to hear and kissing her on the cheek.

"And the stuffing? Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes?" she asked him.

"Done, done and done. Didn't you see the fridge? I did it all this morning. it's all oven ready now" he said putting his hands on his waist and proud.

"Ok" she said smiling. "I guess I underestimated you" she said kissing him.

"Is this room still ours?" he asked her as he tried to move her to be the bed.

"Uhhh NO, this is no longer our room. We are out there" she said motioning her head to the family room.

"Is Nick spending the night? I saw his bag" he asked her, as he backed off of Rachel.

"Yeah, he might, but I told him he can go sleep with Kurt and Zack" she said giggling.

"One big happy family" he said tackling her down to the bed.

"Finn!" she said hitting him. "Get off of me" she said laughing.

Heram and Leroy walked in, because the door was wide open and they didn't assume for any sexual activity to be going on in there.

"Whoa sorry kids" Leroy said as he couldn't help see what Finn and Rachel were doing on the bed. "We were just coming in to unpack our stuff" he said.

"Uhhhh nothing to be sorry about daddy" she said pushing Finn away. "We were just playing, we promise. You have clean sheets and everything" Rachel said, slightly embarrassed to have to explain to her dads that they have clean sheets, as she was lying on the bed with her husband.

"Totally" Finn said, as he got up and fixed his shirt.

"Ohhhh to be young again" Heram said smiling.

"We'll let you get settled in" Rachel said as she walked out of the room, as Finn followed.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Kurt said as he put his glass down. "I saw some major hotties earlier on the ride here, and am ready to go" he said proudly.

"Ok…well, let's go then" Rachel said giggling.

"Thanks again for watching Zack…we'll be home, well…" she said as she didn't know how to finish her sentence because she wasn't sure when they would be home.

"Have fun you four" Carol said smiling.

"Thanks" all four of them said at the same time, as they walked out the door.

_To be continued…_

**END OF CHAPTER 10**


	11. Author's Note

Hi everyone…

This is just a quick note to say I appreciate all the reviews (positive and other)…it's all good. Anyway, I took a break because of summer, etc…but I want to start writing this story again, and hopefully will finish this next chapter this week. Sorry for the long hiatus…just wanted to bump this story back up, and see if anyone else is still out there lol.

Thanks!


	12. Don't Think You're Ready For This Jelly

_**Thank you for our patience…**_

"Nick what do you have in your hand?" Finn asked as all four of them were walking down the stairs to the lobby of the condo.

"Kurt's drink that he set down at the table" he said taking a sip. "I made that pina colada perfectly, I'm not letting it go to waste" he said confidently as he turned his head back to look up at Finn.

Finn just shook his head, because he knows what an influence he can be on Rachel. Every time they all go out, or if Rachel just meets Nick and Stephanie out...she ends up getting a lot more tipsy than she usually does. Although, Finn never really complains because Rachel gets super horny when she drinks a lot. Usually, she just comes home and mauls Finn. Sometimes, and he would never admit this to Rachel, he gets jealous thinking she's horny because she was with Nick all night.

"Ohhh well then give that back to me, that's mine" Kurt said as he grabbed it from his hand. Nick just frowned as he let him take it back.

"Great, now you look like the poster child for a gay Hawaiian cruise" Rachel joked, at the vision of Kurt holding the pina colada with an umbrella, while sporting long black boots, a pink cashmere sweater vest, and a hat with a feather boa.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment that you would find me to be the brand ambassador" he smugly said towards Rachel.

"I like your shirt Nick" Kurt said as he touched the fabric.

"Thanks, it's Finn's" he said smiling and ironing it out with his hands. "Of course, it's swimming on me" he said as he opened the door to go outside.

"Probably because my pecs are way bigger than yours" he said following Nick through the door, as he held it open for Rachel and Kurt.

Nick's shirt hadn't dried yet, so he went into Finn's closet to get a shirt to wear tonight. Of course, he picked out his nicest shirt possible.

"Alright you two, let's not start tonight please" Rachel said pleading for the two men in her life to get along.

"Thanks for picking out the Tommy Bahama shirt too Nick" he said making a remark that he picked out an expensive shirt.

"I only wear the best" he said grinning.

"Yeah, now you and Kurt look like you're ready to set sail on a gay cruise together" he said grinning with his comeback. "This looks like Gay Hawaiian Night", he said.

"Dude, it's YOUR shirt" he said to Finn. "You're ripping on your OWN shirt" he said shaking his head.

"Do I notice a bit of animosity between these two?" Kurt whispered in Rachel's air as Finn and Nick argued as to who can hail the cab first.

"They have an….interesting history together" she quietly replied. "I have too many stories to mention" she said shaking her head.

"Ooooh sounds like a perfect girl night! How come you never told me their history before?" he asked taking a sip of his drink.

Rachel looked intently in Kurt's eyes not knowing how to answer that question. She grabbed his drink from his hands and took a sip. "Because…Finn was embarrassed and I wanted to respect him as his wife not to air everything out. It all worked out in the end" she said handing his drink back to Kurt.

"I seeeeee" Kurt said lifting an eyebrow , but still a bit confused. "

"Ok ladies, our cab is here" Finn said to Rachel and Kurt, as he opened the door and Nick slid in first.

"Well, I did say 'ladies" Finn said, referring to Nick getting in the cab first.

Kurt and Rachel squeeze into the cab next to Nick, and Finn shut the door as he took shotgun. 10 minutes later, they arrive at Stephanie's bar, as Nick and Finn then start to fight over who is paying for the cab fare. Finally, after a few pushes, Nick is able to win the battle.

"Dude, let me pay for the cab" Nick said to Finn. "I mean, it's the least I can do since you're having me for Thanksgiving tomorrow" he said patting him on the back and walking towards Kurt and Rachel.

Finn looks back confused.

"Why does Nick think he's spending Thanksgiving with us sweetheart?" Finn whispers into Rachel's ear as they both walk in the bar.

"Well darling, it's because YOU invited Stephanie. We can't invite her without inviting Nick. Besides, you forgot you were drunk a few weeks back and told Nick to come. RIGHT after you kissed him on the forehead" she said grinning.

"Ugh, why didn't you stop me?" he asked her loudly, because as soon as they walked into the bar, the music was way too loud. Kurt and Nick were already ahead of them and sitting at the table Stephanie had reserved for them.

"Because Finn….when the four of us go out…it's the same night repeated. You two fight over….well, EVERYTHING, then end up drinking too much because you guys are in competition the entire night. THEN, you end up hugging and apologizing for your behavior" she said as she found Nick and Kurt at the table and sat down at one of the chairs.

Finn didn't have time to respond, nor did he feel the need to. He knows Rachel is right. He and Nick always end up competing all night with each other, and they ignore Rachel and Stephanie.

"Hey guys!" Stephanie said as she walked to their table.

"Hi" everyone said.

"Steph, this is my brother-in-law Kurt, who you have heard so much about" she said introducing those two.

"Hi Stephanie, it's nice to meet you. Will there be karaoke tonight? I saw the sign" he asked her.

"Babe, get us the best champagne you have" Nick interrupted.

"I don't want champagne" Finn said, as he looked at the drink menu that Stephanie had handed him.

"I was ordering for me and Rachel" he said looking right at Rachel and smiling.

Finn just looked at Nick then turned and looked at Rachel. Stephanie put her one hand on Rachel's shoulder, and her other on Finn's and leaned in to talk.

"Ok behave Nick, please" she said giving him a sensual glare. Nick just looked down and didn't say anything afterwards.

"Wow…" Kurt said giving a funny look to Nick. "You are totally whipped!"

"Only whipped in bed. Chains and whips excite her" he said with a huge grin on his face and winking at Stephanie, as he accomplished dodging an insult from Kurt.

"Dude, you totally just ripped that off of the Rihanna song that is playing right now" Finn threw his arm out and shook his head at Nick.

"No" Nick said back like a baby. "It just so HAPPENS to be playing right now" he said unsure of himself.

"Ok…excuse me, ummm hi, can we not talk about what I'm in or not into in the bedroom?" Stephanie asked as she gave Nick a look to kill.

Rachel just shook her head and looked down at the drink menu, while Kurt just started to laugh nervously.

"Well we know what Rachel and Finn are into" Nick said snidely, talking directly into the menu.

"What are they into?" Kurt asked Nick out of curiosity.

"Ummmm, HELLO? We're both RIGHT heeere" Rachel said putting her hand on Finn's forearm, as if they weren't in the room as they were talking about them.

"I'll tell you that story later" Nick said to Kurt, referring to the time he and Stephanie had caught Rachel and Finn in a compromising position. "Let's just say it dealt with a broken lamp, a broken back, chains and a crying baby" he said laughing.

"NICK" Stephanie yelled at him. "Don't be an ass. Now, what does everyone want to drink?" she asked as if this entire conversation was normal.

"I think I'll have chains…UHHH champagne" Kurt said correcting himself. "Sorry, now I can't NOT picture all of you chained up in bed" Kurt said as HE nervously started to laugh.

"Just what I wanted on a first impression" Stephanie said slowly as she let out a small chuckle. She's used to Nick's shenanagins.

"Yes this is now getting ridiculous. Please, let's all make a pact to just get along tonight and have fun" Rachel pleaded to everyone.

Everyone just started to nod along in agreement and laugh.

"Alright, well everyone's having champagne but me. I'll just have a beer, can't get too crazy tonight, have to get up early for the parade" Finn said as he glanced his head up towards Stephanie, who was standing behind him.

"Boring" Nick said under his breath, but loud enough where Finn can hear it.

"What do you mean boring? I have to be up early to cook for all your lame asses…" he said while Rachel tilted her head and looked at Finn in shock for referring to her as a 'lame ass'. "Uhhh…I mean, you wonderful people that I LOVE so much" Finn corrected himself at the sight of Rachel's expression. "And…then I have to sing and dance with Susan Lucci on the float tomorrow" he said sighing.

"So NOW do you see why it's so hard for me to then get on a plane and fly to Ohio, then drive 2 hours to Lima every year?" Rachel said, finally getting Finn to realize that it wasn't easy every year for her to be in the parade, and then to be in Lima for Thanksgiving all on the same day.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to cook" Finn said whining. "And you don't have to cook this year either" he smartly said. "Besides, it's not that hard anyway. It's all about preparing in advance" he said folding his arms and smiling in confidence.

"Ohhh I see Hudson…this is super easy for you then huh?" she said as she wants to challenge him with something.

"Yeah…it is" Finn said quickly.

"Then why the beer? Why don't you celebrate with some real drinks tonight, since it's a cinch to sing and dance on a float…I mean, I've seen you drink A LOT in one night, and still meet me at the gym the next day to run" Nick said, almost as if he's trying to see how far he can take Finn. "And besides, I think we can all be in agreement that your dancing actually IMPROVES when you are drinking" he said, as everyone couldn't hold back their laughter.

"Ok, you guys are all insult comics I can see. But anyway…" he said almost not so sure of himself this time. "…Stephanie" he said proudly as he turned to her, "I'll have champagne with the rest of them, and keep it coming" he said.

"Ohhhhhhhh K" Steph said widening her eyes. She knows none of this can be good, but at the end of the day, it will be entertaining for her to watch from afar. "I'll be right back…and Finn, thanks again for inviting us tomorrow. I can't wait!" she said as she kissed the top of his head.

"Well, we're glad you have somewhere to go now. This is our first annual, but will be the first of many. Rachel and I will be taking over Thanksgiving every year now" Finn said proudly has he folded his arms.

Rachel proudly rubbed his arms with her hand, because he's being so hospitable. She realizes how grateful she is that she has a man who wants to entertain for the holidays, and is into big families.

"Well, Nick and I appreciate the invite. I'll be right back with your order" Stephanie said as she patted Finn's shoulder and walked away to get everyone's drinks.

"Thanks" everyone said in unison.

Before anyone can say anything else, Finn's phone started to vibrate. He checked it and saw that it was Carol. He answered the phone and got up from the table to walk away, so he can hear better.

"Hi Mom, is everything alright?" he asked, thinking something was wrong with Zack.

"Yeah, everything is fine honey. I was just calling to see if it was ok for Zack to play with that box of toys in your closet. He keeps going in there and wanting to grab them" she said to him.

"What did you say mom, it's kind of loud? Did you say something about his toys?" he asked, putting his finger to one of his ears so he can hear better.

"Yes, I just wanted to make sure he can play with those toys and that box in your closet. It's labeled 'toys' on the box, but I wasn't sure if those are something he's outgrown, or those are toys he can play with still" she said trying to talk louder.

"Yeah…not a problem. If you haven't noticed already, Rachel labels everything in the house…anything marked 'Zack's toys' is fine. She just likes to be organized and put everything away. Anyway, I can barely hear in here Mom, so I will let you go. Just text me if there's a problem or you need anything else. I will be home soon, because I'm not going to stay out too late with these guys" Finn said to her.

"Ok honey, take your time…we are having a great time playing with our grandson, and catching up with Leroy and Heram. Have fun!" she said, and then hung up the phone.

"Thanks, bye" he said looking at his phone as he realized it was already disconnected.

"Is everything ok?" Rachel asked Finn, as he walked back from the table.

Before Finn can answer, Stephanie came to the table with two bottles of champagne and four glasses.

"Whoa…TWO bottles?" Kurt said surprised, but also excited at how crazy this night might get.

"Yep, it's all on the house tonight, in honor of Finn and Rachel hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow" she said smiling as she popped open the first bottle and started pouring them into the glasses.

"Steph, you did not have to do this. We will pay for our drinks" Rachel said to her.

"Shut up Rachel" Kurt said, respectively smiling and shooting her a look at the same time. It's something only Kurt can get away with, with Rachel. Rachel just rolled her eyes and smiled, because she knows it too.

"Ok, let me make a toast" Nick said as he raised his glass up high, as he took his arm around Stephanie's waist and leaned her in to him. "To having a great night with some great friend" he said smiling and clinging everyone's glasses. …"Except for Finn" he quickly said under his breath. Deep down inside, they are really good friends, but neither of them will admit it.

"Wow, that was…nice, but I didn't hear what you said at the end" Finn asked.

"Honey, don't question it" Rachel said nudging Finn's elbow, knowing what Nick said, but not wanting a fight to start.

"Ok, well I have to get back to work…you guys have fun, and I will make sure your glasses are filled all night" Stephanie said as she patted Rachel's shoulder and walked away.

"Thank you Stephanie!" Finn shouted as she walked away.

"Ummm excuse me" a cute blond said, as she hesitantly walked up to their table. She walked towards Finn, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" Finn asked, confused why this young girl was coming up to him.

"Are you on All My Children? I watch you every day on my lunch break at work" she said almost fighting back a giggle.

"Yes" he said proudly smiling. "Yes, I am" he said putting out his hand to shake hers.

"OMG! It IS him!" she said as she motioned to her friends. "Do you mind if we take a picture with you? You are sooooo HOT" she said excitingly.

"Of course not" Finn said, looking at everyone at the table, who seemed unimpressed; especially Rachel. He got up and straightened his shirt, and ran his fingers through his longer hair that he has been growing out. "Before you tag me in facebook, I want to make sure I look good" he said with a smirk.

All the girls laughed at Finn, and thought he was dreamy and funny. They all took a picture with him, and talked to him for a few minutes. Rachel just stared down the girls the entire time.

"Ohhh girls, I'm sorry, this is my wife, Rachel. She is also on the show" he said to them, and motioning his hand towards Rachel, who was sitting on the bar stool, twirling her in circles, and barely paying attention.

"I'm not sure I know who that is" the one girl whispered to her friend.

"I think she's that dirty hooker, lounge singer" she said back to her friend.

They both smiled, unimpressed, and only interested in Finn. Rachel just gave a half of a smile, knowing that Finn is the popular character, and realized that in Soap Operas, it's more of a chick following. Something Rachel is not used to, but has to adapt too, now that she is in the daytime TV business.

"Do you guys want a picture with her?" he asked, trying to give Rachel attention as well.

"Ohhh, uhhhh…." The girls both looked at each other, trying to get out of the awkward situation. "That's ok. We have to get back to our friends. Anyway, we would like to buy you a drink" the one girl said to Finn.

"Ohhh no, it's ok. Please, I should be buying you guys a drink, for being fans. What can I get you?" he asked them, while putting his arm around one of the girl's shoulders.

"Ummm, we're drinking Vodka Redbulls" she said to him smiling.

"You got it!" he said enthusiastically. "I'll have them sent over. Thanks again for watching, and don't forget to watch the parade tomorrow morning. I'm on the All My Children float" he said smiling as they walk away. "Well….they were nice" he said to the rest of the group sitting at the table, looking for approval.

"Yeah, they were great" Rachel said sarcastically, while looking at her glass and twirling it, then downing the rest of the champagne.

"They were HOT" Nick said, checking them out as they walked away from the table; oblivious to the situation.

"Yeah, your first fans Finn?" Kurt asked excited, also not catching on to Rachel's jealousy.

"Yeah, they were" he said folding his arms and smiling, proud of himself.

"Rachel, I'm sure this has happened a dozen times to you huh?" Kurt asked Rachel.

"Not really" she said, grabbing the bottle of champagne and pouring the rest in her glass.

"What about last month when that guy gave you his hotel key?" Nick asked.

"He thought I was the MAID of the hotel! He wanted me to get it ready especially for him, so he can propose to his girlfriend!" she said, remembering last month when her and Finn had met Nick and Stephanie out at a hotel bar.

"He only thought that because that top you were wearing looked just like something…well…only a maid would wear" Finn said, rolling his eyes.

"Yikes, still hitting it out of the park with your wardrobe Berry?" Kurt asked her, with a smirk.

"It's Hudson now, Hummel" she said pointing a finger at him, before taking a sip, and letting out a small smile.

"Ohhhh COME ON. First off, your clothes can still be ridiculous sometimes, and I DO question some of your wardrobe choices, but really that's not what this is about. You are jealous that I have TWO fans. You are acting like you never have gotten noticed" Finn said, looking at her confused. "You made me wait hours, while you had to go outside the stage door and greet fans. I call bull shit" he said to her.

"Ok ok guys…you both have a fan base. Let's leave it at that" Nick said, motioning to Stephanie for another bottle.

Finn and Rachel, both turned their bodies against each other, and looked off to the opposite direction. Rachel continued to stare at her glass, while Finn pulled out his phone, pretending to read non-existent text messages. Before Kurt or Nick can say something to break the silence, Stephanie came by with two more bottles of champagne to fill up their glasses.

"Perfect timing Stephanie" Kurt said, holding his glass up so she can pour champagne into it.

"No problem guys, I'll keep it flowing" she said, as she walked away.

Everyone went silent for a few minutes, wondering if this night was going to get better or worse. Rachel knew this might be coming next…the fact that Finn will start to get noticed on the street. She was ok with it when he was a sportscaster, because it didn't interfere with her career. She would often think that he did his little sports commentary every night, and that was it. He was noticed only in the local level, and never a threat to Rachel. Of course, Rachel rationally knows that he can never be a threat, because it's her husband. She just couldn't help being jealous that he was interfering on her territory.

_Ok, snap out of it Rachel,_ she thought to herself. _It's just two fangirls. Don't let this ruin your night._

In a way, Finn felt bad that he got noticed, and can tell it bothers Rachel. He never intended to move into her territory of being an actor, but she has to learn to grow up. Of course, he does think if the shoe was on the other foot, he may feel intruded on as well. Ever since he has known Rachel, fame is what she has wanted.

_Well, it's not like I'm super famous. She still has way more fans than me. I've seen her twitter account, _he thought to himself. _I spent 3 years watching all these random guys wanting to take pictures with her, and signing parts of their body. Granted they were gay, but still. She can handle two girls._

"Does anyone want to play darts?" Nick asked.

"I will!" Rachel said enthusiastically, as if she was looking for an excuse to keep her mind busy. She needed a break from Finn too, just so she can process his new found fame.

"Ok let's go" he said, as he grabbed her hand and they walked away.

"You think she's pissed at me?" Finn asked Kurt, as he watched them walk away.

"Yeah" Kurt said without hesitation. "But, do you expect anything less of Rachel?" he asked, nudging his arm and smiling. "Come on…let's go find out when karaoke is" he said grabbing his arm and moving towards the dj.

_4 hours later… _

…and a few more bottles of champagne in, 4 to be exact; everyone is pretty much bombed. Somehow Kurt had talked Finn into attempting "the worm" on the dance floor, and everyone was laughing and taking pictures. Nick and Rachel were on the other end of the bar playing darts, which she learned a few years back when they used to live down the street from this bar. Finn had taught her, and she caught on so much, that she started to beat Finn each time. She was now hustling Nick, and he started to lose the bet that they had agreed on.

"Ok Nick, I won 3 times in a row now…which means, you know whaaaat" she said in gleefully.

"Rachel, I am NOT singing Mariah Carey on Karaoke in front of everyone" Nick said, pouting.

"Oh come on! It's not that bad. I'll let you pick the song" she said shrugging and smiling at the same time.

"No, it will be social suicide. Besides, I don't think I can sing in her range" he said folding his arms and walking away.

"Where are you going?" she said following him.

"To look for Finn and Kurt, and to get us a few beers. I wonder who that idiot is on the dance floor that everyone keeps talking about too?" he said turning his head to talk to Rachel.

"I know, I keep hearing people laughing and pointing" she said, following Nick.

"Oh this is awesome" Nick said smiling, as he watched Finn make an ass out of himself on the dance floor.

"Ohhh dear God" Rachel said, with a confused look on her face. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. She also didn't know what was worse…her husband making a fool of himself, or everyone laughing and taking pictures on their phone.

"I just tagged him on Facebook in 3 pictures, and a video for his fan page. I can't wait for him to see this" Rachel over heard one of the fan girls say. She turned around, and saw them all laughing and pointing.

"Are you going to save your husband from further embarrassment?" Nick asked Rachel, as he handed her a beer.

Rachel didn't respond right away, as if she was looking like she was contemplating.

"Rachel?" Nick asked.

"Ohhh uhhh…" she was still thinking about it. "…I guess I better" she begrudgingly said. She handed her beer back to Nick, and went over to tap Finn on the shoulder.

"Sweetheart" she said, faking a smile. "Let's go…you have to get up early tomorrow" she said slightly pulling his arm.

"Ohhh man, do I have to?" Finn asked, as if he was a little kid.

"It's not a bad idea…besides, you'll need some time to go through your Facebook tomorrow and untag yourself" she said smiling, with a small satisfaction that she got some revenge for him being famous.

"I can stay…I was thinking of just staying up and not going to bed. I can sleep tomorrow night" he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"No" she whispered the words, as she shook her head. "Where's your phone, I'll call a cab. My battery died on mine" she said, holding her hand out.

Finn didn't say anything, he dug for his phone in his pocket and handed it to Rachel. As soon as she opened his phone, she realized he had a missed call, and 4 text messages from Carole.

"Ohhh no Finn…looks like Carole had texted you 4 times, and tried to call. I hope everything is alright with Zachary!" she said starting to panic.

"Oh no" Finn said as he grabbed the phone from Rachel to read the text messages. His father instinct suddenly sparked, and he felt like he became less drunk.

Rachel watched Finn's confused expression on his face, as he scrolled down to all 4 text messages. Then she saw his eyes widen, and he looked up at her like he did something wrong.

"What is it?" she asked. Finn didn't respond, as he looked like he didn't know what to say next. "Well? What is it Finn? You're scaring me!" she said hitting his arm.

"No, don't be scared. Zack is alright. No worries there" he said trying to calm her down. "Sorry, my vision is not too great, having a hard time reading this" he said to her.

"Ok, then what is it?" she asked him, then grabbed his phone so she can read the text messages.

The music stopped, and the lights flickered on the bar, as they called "last call" at the bar. Kurt and Nick had made their way over to Finn and Rachel to see what their next move was going to be.

"Ohhhhh Myyyyy God!" Rachel screamed out, and the entire bar can hear her, since the music had stopped.

"What is it?" Kurt had asked, and Nick had given her a look as well.

"Finn" Rachel looked up calmly at him. "Did you tell Carole that it was ok for Zack to play with that box of toys in our closet?" she asked him.

"Yeah" he said, not understanding why it's a big deal. "She said it was labeled toys, and I know how you label everything…so" Finn was way confused, not to mention over tired and drunk.

"Nick, can you go hail us a cab please?" Rachel turned to Nick, and let out a big sigh. Everyone was still confused why Rachel looked like she just saw a ghost.

"Ohhh man, NOW? This is just about to get good?" he said, not being able to wait what this is about. Then, he caught Rachel's evil look, and he made a bee line to the door.

"Ok, well what is all this about?" Kurt asked both of them.

"Zachary had gotten into the…" Rachel looked up and bit her lip, before she can finish her sentence. "…he got into the box of stuff that I had bought at Stephanie's sex toy party" she finally got out, as if she couldn't believe what she had just said.

Kurt spit out the rest of his drink and started to cough. Finn had an "oh shit" look on his face, and Nick had got to miss all of the fun, so he wasn't able to say a smart ass comment.

"What? Uhhh HOW?" Finn asked her.

"I don't know. He had a box of toys on TOP of that box I had in the closet, but they would have had to go into the closet and search under that box to find it." she said confused.

"Ohhh…but I told her anything labeled toys was ok. She must have opened that box by mistake" Finn said.

"No, that's the problem. That box of all that stuff I bought at Stephanie's party…I had labeled toys" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"But, why would you label that box in the first place? And WHO in their right mind labels a box of sex toys?" Finn asked her.

Kurt still couldn't say anything because he was still coughing from his drink, but he had pointed to Rachel, to try and answer Finn's question. They both know that only Rachel would do something like that.

"I didn't say it was SEX toys..I just wrote toys. What did you want me to label it?" she asked, throwing her arms up.

"Uhhh how about…ohhh I don't know…NOTHING" he said. "You don't have to label everything you know", Finn said as he put his hand on his forehead.

"If I didn't label it…something could have..."

"…happened?" Finn asked, interrupting her. "Well, look…it can't be that bad. He probably grabbed a vibrator or whatever you bought…which by the way, I would have loved to know what you bought, but you never showed me" he said, trying to make her feel worse.

"I was GOING to, but you've been so busy ACTING. Besides, I didn't buy a vibrator. Although, I'm afraid it's much worse than that" she said taking a sigh. "He had gotten into…" Rachel shook her head again, and lowering her voice. "…the vaginal lubricants I had bought. He squeezed them all over my dad's suitcases and dresser" she said in panic, almost wanting to cry of embarrassment.

Kurt spit out the ice that he was chewing on from his drink, and again, could not stop coughing. Finn and Rachel had ignored the fact that he looked like he needed help, because they were both so embarrassed. In the meantime, Nick had walked back in to signal to them that the cab was there. All 3 of them proceeded out the door to get into the cab.

"So what did I miss?" Nick asked, as he waited for everyone to get in the cab, so he can shut the door and sit in the front. "And why is Kurt choking?" he asked confused.

"I'm fine" Kurt said, holding up his arm. "You missed A LOT" he said, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Awww man" Nick said.

"Well, obviously our babysitters are terrible" Finn said, trying to take the blame off of him.

"Those are our parents" she said to him.

"Yeah, and they SUCK" he said, almost not joking. "They could have stopped him" he said, as he started to look out the window.

"Well they didn't know…I mean, the toys were sorta mixed in" she said, not wanting to blame Carole.

"What do you mean? You said it was a separate box that was labeled" he asked her.

"Ok…MAN did I miss something good. Keep talking so I can figure this out" Nick said, interrupting.

"Yeah, but the box was open…and I had toys on top of the lubricant" she said, embarrassingly.

"Wait" Finn said, as he slowly looked at her in the cab. "Do you mean to tell me, that you DID open some of that stuff, and then you hid the lubricant under Zack's toys?" he tilted his head, waiting for a response. Kurt's eyes just widened, and was also very eager to hear a response. Nick, had finally caught up, and was also waiting for Rachel's answer.

"What are you all looking at me like that?" she asked, as she watched them all stare her down. "I didn't do anything" she said to them.

"Ohh you did something….alone…and not with me" Finn said, trying to antagonize her, while he folded his arms.

"Ok…fine! I opened some of that stuff without you Finn. You were tired the last month, and I wasn't going to wait for you" she said turning her head, and not looking at anyone.

"Gross" Kurt said, as he sat in between Finn and Rachel. Nick continued to stare at them, as if he was watching a movie.

"I told you, you didn't need him" Nick said, without turning around to look at them.

"Shut up Nick" Finn said.

"Ok, well, you guys can talk about this when none of us are around. Preferably when I'm 1,000 miles away" Kurt said, not wanting to picture his brother and sister in law having sex.

"Fine, and there's nothing really to talk about" Rachel said, folding her arms as well.

"Oh just that you went ahead and opened that box of sex toys, which you LABELED, and then our son got into your KY Jelly, and smeared it all over your dad's suitcases" Finn said.

Before Rachel can respond, everyone in the cab just started laughing. The cab driver, who usually doesn't even pay attention to people's conversations, could not help but hear how ridiculous and embarrassing that sounded. Even Rachel, tried holding back a smile.

"Oh my God", Rachel said. "What is WRONG with us Finn?" she asked, as she let out a quiet giggle.

"I can answer that!" Nick said, as he kept his head facing forward, and holding up his arm.

"Does anyone else still want to go out? I think I sobered up after all of this" Kurt asked, looking around, as the cab pulled in front of their condo.

"I'm up for it" Nick said, as he paid the cab driver.

"Me too" Finn said, as he was the last to get out of the cab.

"No Finn…you have to get up early….AND you are cooking. It's already passed 2, I think you should call it a night" she said grabbing his arm. "Let those two go out" she said.

"No, I can do it. I close out the bar every year in Lima. It's not that big of a deal" he said, detaching from her arm.

"Well, I'm not going out" Rachel said.

"Why Rachel? You got a date with the box in your closet?" Nick asked, as he started to laugh. Kurt and Finn laughed along with him.

"Very funny" she said, rolling her eyes. "And speaking of that…I have to go inside and do damage control" she said, shaking her head.

"I'm sure your dads cleaned it up" Kurt said, trying to convince her it's fine.

"I don't know…do you think they were ready for this jelly?" Nick said, trying to make another joke.

"You're on a roll tonight Nicholas. Hopefully you'll be this peppy tomorrow" she said to him.

Finn walked over to Rachel to give her a small kiss on the cheek. She hugged him, and held on for a few seconds.

"I'm just going to go out for one more beer, and it will be ok. Go inside and get some rest. I promise you, waving and riding on a float isn't brain science" Finn said quietly in Rachel's ear.

"I know baby, but you are doing a routine dance with her in front of Macy's. You are getting older, and you are going to feel it tomorrow" she said, trying to convince him to stay.

"Baby, it's fine. I will have some coffee, and I will sleep after dinner tomorrow" he said, as he kissed her on the lips and broke contact.

Rachel listened to Finn's response on how easy he thinks all of this is. She feels that he doesn't take this acting thing serious, and the problem is, she really does. She's sick of him always brushing it off as if it's no big deal. She wasn't ready to argue with him anymore, but more so, to be right. She couldn't wait to say "I told you so" tomorrow at dinner.

"Ok you two…take a picture, it will last longer" Kurt said to them both, waiting so they can walk to the bar around the corner from their condo.

"Ok" Rachel said, as she watched Finn walk away with Kurt and Nick. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

**END OF CHAPTER 11**


	13. Dancing with the Cell Phone

_**Ok, I'm back. This story is not for the finchel hearted…meaning, if you want lovey dovey, this is not your story. If you like "Vitamin D" finchel, and you enjoy the funny bickering…I'm your writer! Thanks again for the reviews…even the ones who disagreed with what I was doing with the characters. I hope you realize I'm just having some fun! I take them all into account though. Thanks guys!**_

Rachel quietly opens the door to the condo and throws her purse on the kitchen table. She takes a big sigh, thinking about Finn going back out with the guys. _He's so going to regret this in the morning,_ she thinks to herself. She walks over to the couch in the family room, and starts to throw the cushions off onto the floor so she can pull the bed out. _I should probably call him and tell him to come home,_ she thinks, as she throws the pillows and blanket on the bed. She walks into the hallway bathroom where she had left her and Finn's things for the next few nights, and began to get ready for bed.

When Rachel walks back out into the family room, she walks over to the kitchen and leaves the kitchen sink light on. She is worried all 3 men will end up knocking something over and waking up everyone in the household. She walks over to the bed, rolls over, and pulls the covers over her head.

_Two hours later…_

"Come on Finn, put the key in the hole and open the God damned door! I have to piss like a race horse" Nick said to him, as he watched him jiggle through his pockets.

"I can't seem to find it" Finn said, while leaning himself up on the door.

Kurt is nowhere near the two guys, because he decided to go up and down the elevator in the building. He had claimed to Nick and Finn that he had never seen an elevator before, and he wanted to know if it would take him back to Ohio.

"Got it!" Finn said, as he located his key, and then put it in the door.

"You guys" Kurt said, stumbling off the elevator. He is so wasted, he is not even sure he knows where he is. "Oh my God, you guys" he said, tugging on Nick's shirt.

"What?" Nick turned around and asked.

"You guys" Kurt repeated, not even knowing what to say next, and then it came to him. "Ohio was SO. AMAZING" he said, referring to his magic elevator ride back to Ohio.

"I don't think I've ever heard Ohio and amazing in the same sentence" Nick said, as he watched Finn finally push the door open.

Nick fled past Finn's arms, and ran straight towards the bathroom. He had to pee really bad, and didn't care who he hurt on the way there.

"Ow" Finn said, as he started to giggle when he walked into the chair in the kitchen.

"Shhhhh" Kurt said slowly, as he followed Finn into the kitchen. "You are going to wake up Raquel" he said smiling.

"Who's Raquel?" Finn asked, squinting at him and laughing.

"Your French wife" he said back, falling back on the chair and laughing.

"Ohhh right" he said grinning, and putting his hand on his chin. "Oh there she is!" he said with enthusiasm, as he pointed to her walking in from the kitchen. Rachel had overheard the commotion in the hallway, and got up to get everyone to go to bed.

"Come on Raquel, let's get crunk" Kurt said, as he grabbed both sides of her waist, and then touched her one boob.

"Kurt!" she squealed, and pulled back. She wanted to laugh, but she found too many reasons not too. "You guys are wasted" she said sighing.

"Oui" Finn said, smiling as he grabbed a glass of water.

Kurt just laughed at Finn's response in French, and Rachel secretly smiled at how cute he can be. However, her main objective is to get Finn to bed, and make sure the guys stay quiet so they don't wake everyone up in the house.

"I might have knocked Finn's boxers in the toilet by accident" Nick said, as he entered the kitchen.

"What?" Rachel asked him confused.

"Well, unless they are yours. Sorry, they were on the counter by the sink, and I fell over and knocked them in. No worries, I took them out, and they are hanging on the door" he said, as he started to rip off his shirt in the kitchen.

"Oh dear, now he's got wet underwear for tomorrow" Rachel said, shaking her head.

"Don't worry babe, everything is going to be fine for tomorrow" Finn said, as he stumbled over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ok, let's all go to bed, so we can enjoy tomorrow. Finn has to get up in 3 hours" she said looking at the clock in the kitchen.

"Yes, come on Nick. We're sleeping in Zack's room together" Kurt said, as he grabbed his arm and started to pull him towards the bedroom. Nick's eyes widened, as he realized Kurt might have a small crush on him.

"Good night you two" Finn said smiling, as he watched them walk away. "They're so nice" he said smiling, not really making a lot of sense.

"Yes baby, they're very nice. Ok come on, let's go to bed" she said, trying to guide Finn over to the bed.

"Thanks" he said smiling and leaning on Rachel, as she unzipped his jeans and started to pull them off of him. "Oh, are we having sex right now?" he asked her, confused where he is at the moment.

"No, I'm helping you get to bed. You need to get SOME rest before the parade tomorrow. Come on" she said as she sat him down on the bed.

"I love you" he said, as he fell back and let Rachel pull his jeans completely off. She then grabbed the covers and threw them on him, while she fluffed up his pillow.

"I love you too baby" she said, as she kissed him on the cheek. She walked away to turn the lights off in the kitchen, and then get back in bed herself. "I set your alarm for 8, so you can plan to leave around 8:30" she said sighing, as she got under the covers.

"Thanks" he said, as he turned over to his side and threw his arm around her body.

"You're welcome" she said, as she kissed his forearm that was lying across her. They both fell asleep.

_The next morning…_

"Mmmhhhm" Rachel sighed out as she took the covers and put them over her head. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the sunlight beam through the windows. She immediately jumped up and looked around, and didn't see Finn. She looked at the clock and realized it was 9:45, and that Finn should have already been downtown for the parade. He is scheduled to go on at 10:15.

"Ugh good morning" Kurt said, as he moped to the kitchen in his robe and pajamas to grab a cup of coffee.

"Good morning Kurt" Rachel said, as she got out of bed and crossed her arms over her chest, because she did not have a bra on.

"Don't worry, for your age, they are still perky" Nick said as he sprinted out of the bedroom and passed Rachel towards the kitchen.

Rachel rolled her eyes and just ignored his comment. "I can't believe you guys are up. I thought you might sleep until at least noon" she said, walking towards the bathroom to get a robe.

"Are you kidding me?" Kurt said as he tried to work the coffee pot. "We can't miss Finn at the parade! I want to see this live" he said.

"Yeah, what time is he on?" Nick asked, as he toyed with the controller to put the TV on.

"Within the hour…I think he said 10:15, so he's one of the first acts" Rachel said, walking from the bathroom and into the kitchen to help Kurt with the coffee.

"He was pretty wasted..I mean, if I had to perform on a float in front of millions of people right now…"Kurt said, as he put coffee grounds into the filter, "…I wouldn't be able to fake it. I think I'm still drunk" he said, as Rachel pushed the start button for Kurt as he sat down on at the kitchen table.

"I'm waiting for him to fall on his ass" Nick said, while he found the channel and plopped on the couch.

"Do you guys hear that?' Rachel asked them both, as she looked around the condo.

"Hear what?" they both asked.

"Nothing. It's quiet in here, and it's almost 10am…they all should be up by now" Rachel said, as she started to walk towards the master bedroom. She opened the door and noticed the bed was neatly made, and no one was in site.

"Where is everyone?" Kurt asked, as he got up and walked towards Rachel to look around.

"Maybe they went to get you more of that KY Jelly that Zack smeared all over the house last night" Nick said in a snarky way. Rachel just ignored him, but unfortunately was reminded of that embarrassing mishap.

Before anyone can say anything else, the front door started to jiggle, and in walked the grandparents and Zachary.

"Oh there you guys are" Rachel said with a huge smile on her face, as she walked over to greet her son and parents.

"Yeah, we figured you kids would be out late and wanted to sleep in. We went out for breakfast" Burt said, as they all came in and took off their coats.

"Breakfast is a good idea" Nick said, as he put down the controller and started to walk towards everyone in the kitchen. "Especially since Finn is in charge of Thanksgiving dinner" he said.

"Speaking of that…wasn't he supposed to put the turkey in the oven?" Kurt asked Rachel.

"Uhhh, I don't….no" Rachel said, shaking her head. "I have no idea his plans…we never got a chance to talk about the logistics of today" she sighed.

"Hi honey" Leroy said, as he awkwardly looked at his daughter and then walked away. Rachel knew it was because of the incident last night, and she sure as hell couldn't blame him.

"Sorry daddy…I-I-I-…" Rachel stuttered, not really knowing how to begin.

"No worries" Heram interrupted, as he put his hand on her shoulder. "We'd all like to forget the incident of our suitcase smeared with arousing jelly that you had in your closet. And besides…glad you and Finn….well….are getting….along" he said, hesitantly, and insinuating more.

"I'd actually like to know where you got…" Carole started to say before she was interrupted.

"PLEASE stop" Kurt said, before she can continue. "It's bad enough I had to picture Finn and Rachel" Kurt said, as he started to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"And you guys probably thought I'd be the problem of the bunch" Nick said, as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh oh oh Ok everyone" Rachel stuttered. "I obviously gave you a more intricate look into mine and Finn's…private lives" she said, trying to come up with the right words. "But…."

"He's on next!" Nick excitingly interrupted Rachel, as he noticed Finn was going to be on TV next.

_Saved by my husband,_ Rachel thought to herself, as she watched them all get excited for Finn's national TV debut.

After the commercial break, they are all sitting on or near the couch, ready to watch Finn dance live with Susan Lucci on the 'All My Children' Float.

"Oh my God! There he is!" Kurt excitingly shouted. Everyone clapped and started to laugh as they saw Finn on the float with Susan Lucci behind the scenes of the commentators talking.

"He's going to be on any second" Carole said, as she clasped her hands in excitement.

"Rachel, you should text Finn and tell him we see him" Nick said.

"Now? He's going to be on any second" she said, grabbing her phone anyway.

"I know, but he keeps his phone on him all the time. Maybe he'll read it and send us a wink on TV or something. He'll know you were thinking about him right before he goes on. Didn't Finn text you every year right before you went on?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, he'll love it. Tell him to send us a signal!" Kurt encouraged her.

"Ok, I better ask him about the turkey anyway" she said, as she started to send him a message.

As the commentators kept talking about the history of the parade, Rachel was finishing up her text message. Everyone else was staring at the TV, waiting for Finn's debut.

"Ok…I sent it" Rachel squealed, as she sat on the arm of the couch next to Leroy.

"What did you tell him? Did you tell him to give us a wink or something?" Carole asked, as she played with Zack, who was on her lap.

"I told him to…Oh THERE HE IS" Rachel said, as she didn't finish her sentence because she was distracted when she saw him on the float.

"Oh my…Finn does look a little tired" Kurt said, as he tilted his head watching.

"Yeah" everyone said in unison.

"Why is he digging in his pocket awkwardly?" Nick asked, almost embarrassed for him, because of how uncomfortable he looks.

"I don't know" Rachel said, confused.

"Do you think he's reaching for his phone?" Burt asked. "Probably heard the text or something" he shrugged.

"Yeah" Nick said, as he kept staring at the TV.

Everyone is sipping their coffee and staring at Finn. He's supposed to do a simple dance, then break into some funny work out moves, that will promote the work out dvd that he will be staring in. But, he's looking like he's struggling up on the float.

"Well, Susan Lucci has never looked better, I will say. However, Finn looks distracted as hell" Kurt said.

On the float, Susan Lucci is waiving to the crowd, while Finn is half waiving to the crowd. Their song is supposed to begin in less than a minute. They are supposed to break into a ballroom dance on the float, and then the song scratches into a high intensity work out song, where Finn will then show off his work out moves to promote the dvd. On the show, Finn plays her son who is a part time ballroom dance instructor. He found out she was his mom, while giving her lessons. The producers of All My Children thought this would be a cute idea to promote the show at the parade.

"Oy, Finn's not even waiving to people, he keeps digging in his pocket" Rachel said, with a worried look on her face.

"Stop worrying about your phone and perform Finn!" Heram yells out to the TV, in hopes it will knock some sense into Finn.

"You probably shouldn't have texted him Rachel" Nick said, as he took a sip of his coffee. Rachel just shot him a look, knowing full well that he was the one that suggested it in the first place. "Now he's totally distracted" he said.

And right when Nick said that…something happened. Finn finally was able to grab his phone, but with a weakened grip. As he motioned his hand to pull the phone out, it started to fly faster than his hand can keep up. The cell phone flew out of his pocket, and in one quick motion, Finn tried to catch it from falling. It hit his knuckle, and the phone projected too far for him to reach.

"Oh my…" Carole said, as everyone's eyes widened. They all watched Finn juggle his phone out of his pocket, as he bent over to catch it….he fell along with it. He fell directly off the float. The commentators almost didn't know what to say.

"Oh my God!" everyone yelled out, as they zeroed in on the television. Rachel started to almost cry, as she was worried about her husband, and everyone else was trying to keep calm to make sure he was going to be ok.

"Rachel, what kind of a signal did you tell Finn to do?" joked Kurt.

"…And what is that hanging from the float?" Nick had asked.

"Yeah, I see it too. That's not…." Kurt stuttered for a moment. "Is that…is that his pants?" Kurt asked confused.

"I think it is. I thought I saw a glimpse of his butt crack, but I wasn't sure" Leroy said. Everyone started to look at each other out of disbelief of what they just saw. The commentators on television announced that they were going to go to commercial break.

"Oh nooooooo! I can't believe he fell off the float!" Rachel panics, as she tries and calls Finn on his cell.

"I think he's ok, I saw all the fireman run over to him, lucky bastard" Kurt said, trying to be supportive, and looking for something positive.

"Dude, that totally was his pants" Nick said, shaking his head. "Does anyone want anymore coffee?" Nick asked, oblivious to what just happened.

"He's not answering!"Rachel panics, and throws her cell on the couch.

"Of course he's not answering. He fell off a float, trying to catch his phone…ironically enough" Burt said to everyone.

"That's it…I'm going down there" Rachel says, as she runs to her bedroom to grab some jeans and a sweatshirt.

"I'll go with you" Kurt said, as he started to get dressed as well. "Those fireman looked like they needed help" he said, trying to smooth down his hair as he ran towards the other bedroom.

"Wait…guys! They are back!" yelled Carole.

Rachel and Kurt ran back towards the television to see what happened.

"Well, sorry for the delay folks" said the commentator. "It appears we had a slight mishap with All My Children star Finn Hudson…"

"Star?" chuckled Nick, from the comment.

"Yes, a slight mishap, but it turned out he's ok" the other commentator said. "The story we heard was that he had fallen off the float, when his cell phone went flying. He attempted to catch it, but as he was leaning over, he went too far and went directly off the float" she said.

"But I think he's lucky, because his pants had caught on the railing, which actually slowed him down. He was able to position himself to fall safely. He's ok folks, and this is definitely a first for the parde" the commentator said.

Rachel sighed out of relief that he was ok, and everyone else took a deep breath as well. Leroy and Heram both walked over to Rachel to give her a hug, and put their hand on her shoulder. They knew she was in panic mode, and they felt bad for their daughter.

"Does this mean I'm not going to meet those firemen?" Kurt frowned.

"They're lucky my son has such a hard head" Carole tried to joke, to lighten up the mood.

"Well, this young fellow is going to have quite the story to tell his family" one of the television commentators announced. "Not only did he fall off the float, he lost his pants" he started to laugh.

The other commentator started to chime in, "And it looks like his fans also learned something else about him…he likes to go commando" they both laughed. "Anyway, let's move on to the next float…" the commentator continued to talk, as Nick started to lower the volume on the TV.

"Ok, well, Finn is now the laughing stock of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" Rachel rolled her eyes in embarrassment for her husband.

"…not to mention the laughing stock of the free world" Nick chimed in.

"Ok, shut up Nick!" Rachel snapped back. She feels so bad for Finn, and really wanted him to be successful up there today. She really was rooting for him, even though he was all smug the last few weeks about how easy this sort of thing is. She's still going to privately make fun of him later for making this sound easy, but right now, she feels really bad.

"Ok, well, I should probably help with the Turkey. I don't want Finn to think he has to do this entire dinner by himself" Carole said, as she got up to go to the kitchen to get the turkey ready.

"Yeah, we'll all chip in" said Leroy. Burt and Heram started to follow in the kitchen.

"I still feel like I need to go down there" Rachel said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

"Why don't we wait till we hear from Finn" Nick said, as he got up to walk towards her.

"Yeah, I'm with Nick on this one. I think we should wait. It's a madhouse over there, and you're best to wait to hear from Finn. Maybe you should try calling him again. He might be able to answer" Kurt said.

"Or, his phone is broken" Nick said.

"Ugh…that's true. His head can be broken for all that matters!" Rachel started to get emotional. "I'm not sure what I should do. Part of me wants to say 'I told you so' for staying out late, when he knew he had to be up early in front of millions of people" Rachel said, shaking her head.

"Well, I suppose it's our fault for enabling this to happen" Kurt said, rubbing Rachel's shoulder.

"I just feel really bad for him. And I shouldn't, but I do" she said, almost starting to cry.

"Well, you love him dear" Leroy said, overhearing their conversation from the kitchen. "Looks to me that he's not injured, other than his pride of course" he said.

"Yeah, we should all take it very easy on him when he gets home" Carole said, wanting to protect her only son.

Nick put his finger up, attempting to comment on making it easy on Finn. Rachel recognized that he was going to say something, and automatically shut him up.

"Don't say anything Nicholas...I know what you're thinking. It's actually all your fault that he fell off this float" Rachel irrationally said.

"All MY fault? All MY fault?" he repeated. He doesn't even know how to answer that interrogation.

"Yeah, you have to challenge him every time we go out. AND, you're the one who told me to text him as well. He wouldn't have been digging for his phone if you didn't put me up for it. It's almost as if you wanted him to fail!" she yelled at him.

"Fail? I don't need to do shit…he's done a fine job of making himself look like an ass since I've known him. He doesn't need my help" Nick fought back.

"Yeah, but you're always involved. You're the antagonist" she bit back.

"Yeah, involved in getting BOTH of you guys a job at All My Children! So yeah, you can say it's all my fault, because Finn wouldn't have a float to fall off of if it wasn't for me!" he argued his case, getting a little closer to Rachel.

"Guys! Guys!" Kurt intervenes. He walks over to them, and physically puts his arms out to give them some space. They both looked like they were about to throw down any minute. "It's no one's fault here. It was a freak accident. Now is not the time to put blame on anyone" he said. "If anything, we're all to blame".

Rachel and Nick both fold their arms and give each other looks. They are not even sure who or what they're mad at, but the tension has definitely got the best of them. Everyone in the kitchen turns around to see what the commotion is all about, but it's hard for someone else not to step in.

"Ok, I don't want to get in the middle of it here" Burt continues, "But Finn is a grown man, and it should be no one's fault. No one is to blame, except for the guy who actually fell off the float. If anything, blame the cell phone" he said, trying not to laugh.

"Burt's right" Heram said. "We're all here as a family, that's what Finn wanted in the first place. Let us handle dinner now, and you kids take care of Finn" he said.

"I better put Zack down for a nap, and maybe then we should go down there and see if we can find him" she says, walking away to pick up Zack. He was playing with his toys during all of the fighting.

"Ok" both Nick and Kurt agreed.

After 20 minutes go by, Nick and Kurt had gotten dressed. Rachel put Zack down for a nap, and came out of his bedroom ready to grab her purse and leave.

"Ready?" she asked the boys.

"Yeah, let's go" Nick said, grabbing his coat. Rachel walked over to Carole in the kitchen to give her a hug.

"Thanks so much for everything" she said, giving her a warm embrace.

"It's ok darling, I'm glad we can help. This is actually kind of fun. We'll finish everything, and maybe by the time you guys come back, the food will be ready" she said smiling.

"Well, I hope we're not back that long" she said, breaking their embrace.

"Are you kidding me Rachel? You know how many people are down there right now? It might be hours before we figure out where he is" Nick said, holding the front door open.

"Why don't you call someone you know down there? There's got to be someone from All My Children that you know who is down there right now?" Kurt asked, as he walked towards the door with Rachel.

"Yeah…my husband!" she said, as they all walked out.

Once they got downstairs, Nick attempted to hail a cab. "I don't think a cab is going to be a good idea. I think we should take the subway" Rachel said to him.

"You don't know what you're talking about, the subway is a terrible idea" Nick turns around to argue with Rachel. As they are both arguing on the best way to get down to the parade, a cab pulls up.

"Here guys, someone is getting out of this one" Kurt said.

The door opened, and all 3 of them couldn't believe it. "Finn!" they all yelled out.

Rachel ran over to him to give him a big hug and a kiss, and even Nick walked over to pat him on the back. Kurt just stood there in disbelief of the timing of it all.

"Hi guys…I'm guessing you saw what happened?" he embarrassingly asked.

"No, I don't know what you'd be talking about buddy" Nick sarcastically said. They all started to walk inside the condo building to get out of the cold.

"Baby, what were you thinking digging for your phone like that?" Rachel asked Finn. She had locked her arm with his as they both started to walk up the stairs.

"I forgot to turn my cell phone off, and I heard the sound of an incoming text message. I wanted to grab it and turn it off before we started to dance. I didn't want any distractions. We all know I'm not the lightest on my feet" he said, as they all shook their head in agreement. "So anyway, my hands were cold, and I was nervous as hell. I was in a hurry to shut it off, but couldn't get it out of my jeans. You know how it goes when you are in a hurry?" he asked all 3 of them. Again, everyone nodded in agreement. "So, I panicked, and the rest was history" he shrugged.

"Well, you certainly made history today" Kurt said, slapping his back.

Right before they walked into the condo, Finn turned around. "Yeah, well, whoever I find out who texted me 2 seconds before I was ready to perform on the float, I am going to kill them!" he said shockingly.

"Oh-oh-oh really?" Rachel stuttered.

"Yeah, I mean, everyone I know knew I was going to be on that float. Who would text me at that moment?" he asked. "Too bad I never got to read it…my phone broke when it hit the ground" he said, turning the knob and walking into the condo.

All 3 of them looked at each other, knowing it was Nick who told Rachel to text him, and everyone agreeing it was a good idea.

"Oh this is going to get good" Nick whispered as they all followed Finn.

When Finn entered, the grandparent's were all happy to see him. They all hugged him, and Finn re-told the story. He was upset that his performance was a bust, but glad to see the entire family together on Thanksgiving. That was truly his goal in the first place. He just wanted everyone together in New York.

An hour later, Stephanie had arrived. Finn again, re-told the story of him falling, and she said she heard it on the radio on her way to their place. A couple hours later, dinner was ready, and they all sat down to eat.

::clinging the glass:: "Everyone, everyone…I'd like to say a few words before we sit down to eat this wonderful Thanksgiving meal" Finn said. Rachel, who was sitting on the opposite end of the table, sighed and smiled at her husband. "Thank you for everyone's generous help in the kitchen, and just for being here. God bless us all today, and I look forward to many more years of us together on this holiday" Finn said, raising his glass.

"Cheers" everyone said. They all raised their glasses and took a sip of their water.

"And one last thing…I was given some very good news today" he said smiling. They all looked intrigued and curious of what he was going to say next. "After my fall off the float, and me making some pretty hilarious headlines…" he continued to say. "I got a call from one of the producers from Dancing with the Stars. They think it would be fun, and a real ratings grabber for them if I joined their cast this season" he said, with a huge grin on his face.

"What?" Rachel asked, with a confused look on her face. Everyone else, except for Nick and Rachel, started to cheer and laugh. They all are excited at the opportunity for him. "How did the producers call you so soon? You literally just fell off the float a few hours ago" she asked.

"Well, All My Children is on ABC, and so is Dancing with the Stars. I guess they were toying with the idea of a soap star this year anyway, and as soon as I made headlines with falling off the float…someone called right away. They knew it would be a great transition for both shows" he said, sitting back down on his chair. "Ok everyone, let's dig in" he said, wanting to eat.

"I honestly cannot believe what I'm hearing. I have so many jokes going through my head right now" Nick said, with his mouth wide open. "I mean, you can't dance…and you certainly are not a star.."he wanted to continue until Stephanie cut him off.

"Come on Nick, I think you're just jealous" Stephanie said, defending Finn.

"He always is" Finn said, digging his fork into the stuffing.

"Ok, I myself, has so many questions, but when are you going on this show? Isn't it shot in California?" Rachel asked Finn.

"Yeah…and we start rehearsals in a month. Just right after Christmas" he said to her, like it's no big deal.

"B-bu-bu-but, what about the show?" she asked Finn.

"I can do both. I fly out to California half the week, then the other half, I fly back to tape the show. They're going to write me around Dancing with the Stars" he said.

"Well, I am so excited for you, I think this is great!" Carole said. "My boy dancing on Dancing with the Stars! I can't believe it" she said smiling.

"Thanks mom" Finn said.

"Ok Finn….sorry to keep going back to this, but what about me and Zack?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"Well, how often to you have to be in California?" she asked him.

"Not sure babe…as soon as I know more, I will let you know. I'm flying out there next week" he said, eating.

"Next week?" she began to compose herself. "Sorry, next week?" she asked in a more calm, sweet voice.

"Yeah" he said nodding. "Please pass the gravy please?" Finn asked, ignoring Rachel.

_I hate this,_ Rachel thought to herself.

Everyone continued to eat dinner, and they all talked about how exciting this opportunity will be for Finn. Carole and Kurt even romanced the idea of Finn becoming a huge movie star, after his stunt on the show. Rachel quietly sat there, trying to be a big sport, but couldn't help but feel jealous. After all, it WAS all her fault that he fell off the float in the first place, which led to the offer.

**END OF CHAPTER 12**


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